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September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a month that brings attention to the condition that affects friends and families across the world. This Tuesday, Otha Backey, a kindergarten teacher at Jones Wheat Primary School, called attention to the month by wearing gold and asking everyone in the school to participate.

Backey stated, “I asked my principal to set aside one day for the school as a whole, teachers and students, to wear gold.”

If you don’t have yellow or gold, that’s not a problem, because Backey sells gold ribbons and buttons. She uses the proceeds from the sales to give students a monetary gift and the Jeremy Backey Courage Award.

The award is in memory of her son Jeremy Backey, and it is announced at the end of the school year. Backey says she’s “looking for somebody with the same kind of characteristics, but still remaining positive and staying strong. This child never complained, all the pain he was in, he never complained. Jeremy was a brave little boy. He was my rock. So, when I’m giving that award out, I’m looking for another child that I can help.”

Backey wants to do more for Childhood Cancer Awareness, but she can’t do it alone. So, she challenges the Decatur County School System, “I would not only like to challenge this school, but all the schools in Decatur County to show up and show out for Childhood Cancer Awareness by wearing yellow or gold.”