Brody School of Medicine raises money for cancer patients through ‘Pirates versus Cancer’

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — ECU Health’s James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital has a new playroom thanks to the members of Pirates versus Cancer.

The group, full of students from the Brody School of Medicine, raises money that goes into a fund. This fund creates ways to give back to the community such as the new playroom installation.

Pirates versus Cancer has raised more than $150,000 since 2017, $17,000 of that was just last year alone, to make this come to fruition. The group has fundraisers each year to give back to the cancer patient community. Their biggest event includes cutting hair for cancer patients, making donations and asking for sponsorships from local businesses.

The playroom provides pediatric cancer patients with toys, board games and video games to all ages.

The Brody School students that are part of Pirates versus Cancer are all students who want to pursue a career in pediatrics, giving back to the patients and seeing them actually use the playroom for the first time is something the group cherishes the most.

“To be able to be a part of such a big community event that raises money for a physical playroom that you can actually see. It impacts how we view medicine and our goals and drives to go into medicine,” Katie Holt said.

Some of the sponsorships that have helped the movement were Riley’s Army, Greenville Fire and Rescue and the Red Cross among others. The group is hoping for even more sponsorships in the future so they can continue to give back to the medical community.

The next big event for the group is next Spring, but if you want to show support before them, you can head to the Scare-Away-Cancer event on Oct. 27 at Pitt Street Brewing Company.

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