McAllen Office Helps Kick off National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Halff’s McAllen office recently participated in its first Halff Community Initiative (HCI) event by helping the patients, families, and staff of the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children’s Cancer and Hematology Clinic kick off National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with an outdoor superhero-themed fair.

More than 140 people participated in this annual event, which included carnival rides, games, tasty treats, video games, mascots, and a tour of a McAllen SWAT vehicle. HCI partnered with Mahalo Icehouse to provide snow cones and bagged chips.

Texas State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and Mayor Jim Darling were among those present at the outdoor fair to applaud advancements in treating pediatric cancer, as well as acknowledge the need to continue to support causes fighting the disease and looking for cures.

Halff employees spent several hours over the weekend transforming 160 bags of potato chips into mini caped superheroes. They also manned the HCI booth at the event, handing out the masked snacks. Kids were so taken by the cute costumes they often chose their snacks based on their favorite superhero characters instead of their favorite chips.

“I loved being part of this event,” said Kristina Leal. “Not only did it allow me to get to know some of my coworkers better, but I was also able to create something fun for some very special little ones. I’m looking forward to doing more with the Vannie Cook Cancer Clinic. I’m glad HCI provided that little push I needed to actually get involved.”

All of the HCI volunteers said they were honored to take part in the event and see the kids’ faces light up when receiving a festive, tasty snack.