Belton ISD Goes Gold
On Sept. 30, Belton ISD will go gold to acknowledge Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The Lake Belton High School Bronco Cheer Booster Club is leading the charge. This is the third year the group has raised money by selling Go Gold shirts and presenting the money raised at a football game to representatives from McLane Children’s Medical Center.
“We wanted our community fundraiser to support children in Belton ISD and to be able to bring awareness to the fact that pediatric cancer can affect children right here in our own schools,” said Alicia Thomas, head of the Go Gold committee for the LBHS Cheer Boosters.
Boosters are selling shirts this week at North Belton Middle School and Lake Belton Middle School home football games on Monday and Tuesday and during junior varsity games at Lake Belton High School on Thursday. If you’re unable to get a shirt at one of those events, you can reach out to Thomas at (254) 721-3996 for a porch pick-up option.
The boosters also sponsored “Flocking for a Cure,” where supporters can pay to fill a friend’s yard with plastic gold flamingos. The friend can then pay to have the flamingos removed. For an extra cost, they can have the flock relocated and purchase insurance to ensure that their home won’t be flocked again.
Several schools across Belton ISD also joined the fundraising efforts by asking students to donate loose change.
Kari Norman, an instructional coach at Lake Belton Middle School, said the Go Gold campaign makes her family feel seen. Her six-year-old son, Axton, was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic neuroblastoma in 2018.
“This year the LBHS volleyball and football teams met with families affected by cancer and heard our stories,” she said. “I think for me that has meant the most. The fact that, in a small way, Axton feels seen. He wants people to know he is brave and that he fought hard. The Go Gold campaign gives him the space to do that. It also gives his sister a way to share her side of the story. That’s one we often miss.”
High Point Elementary teacher Melony Jefferson is also grateful for the district putting a spotlight on this devastating disease. Her son, Jace Jefferson, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2016 at the age of 12 and passed away shortly thereafter. Jace would have been a member of Lake Belton High School’s senior class this year.
“It’s a huge honor to know our boosters are bringing attention to pediatric cancer,” Jefferson said. “It’s not something you really think about until it hits your family or touches you personally, so bringing awareness is so important to my heart.”
Jace’s legacy, along with those of other members of the Big Red Community facing pediatric cancer battles, will be remembered at the Sept. 30 LBHS varsity football game against Cleburne. Students and staff are encouraged to wear gold or yellow that day to honor all students who have been affected by childhood cancer.