Metro Diner partners with NPCF for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Metro Diner, which has locations in Madison and Huntsville, is partnering with the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation to hold a “round-up” fundraising campaign for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Until the end of September, the Tampa-based restaurant chain specializing in indulgent comfort food will give customers the chance to round up the cost of their meal to the nearest dollar, and the extra cost will be added to a fund supporting NPCF’s Sunshine Project. The project aims to help fast-track the development of new drugs and therapies to help find a cure for childhood cancers.

In addition to rounding up their check, customers can choose to donate an additional amount $1, $2 or $5. Adding a custom amount is also an option.

“We are proud to partner with National Pediatric Cancer Foundation on their mission to eliminate childhood cancer,” said Crafton Bryant, director of marketing for Metro Diner. “As a place ‘where the locals eat,’ we truly care about the families and children we serve and invite our guests to join us in raising awareness and funding for this remarkable organization.”

According to Bryant, NPCF is Metro Diner’s first national charity partner. Metro Diner has participated in several events over the past year with NPCF, also based in Tampa, Florida, and Bryant said “the relationship has grown from there.”

Bryant also said that NPCF’s mission to eliminate childhood cancer has resonated strongly with the team at Metro Diner, especially since the restaurant chain highly values family and children.

“From the moment we sat down with their team, we knew that we had to partner together in some fashion to help them in their mission,” Bryant said.

According to Kelly McGraw, NPCF’s director of development, the Sunshine Project was formed in 2005 to change the way pediatric cancer research was approached and funded. Since then, NPCF has launched five Phase 1 clinical trials in eight years to develop and test new drugs to fight cancer cells. McGraw said these drugs are designed to attack only cancer-causing molecules and keep healthy cells safe.

“Because the new gene-targeted therapies are less toxic than traditional treatment, it is also more effective because it targets the source of the cancer and does not compromise the rest of the body by eliminating the immune system, which many times leads to death,” McGraw said.

The Sunshine Project continues to grow through the efforts of a team of principal investigators from 22 institutions. Upcoming projects this year will focus on brain tumors, Ewing sarcoma and “a drug combined with the promise to treat multiple types of pediatric cancer.”

McGraw also noted that NPCF is the only cancer charity with a perfect score for financial health and transparency from Charity Navigator, a watchdog-type organization.

For more information on the Sunshine Project, NPCF or its mission, visit nationalpcf.org.

Metro Diner is located in Madison at 7620 US Highway 72. The Huntsville location is at 975 Airport Road SW.