A small crowd gathered outside North Bay City Hall on a cloudy, windswept Friday morning as a flag for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month was raised at Leger Square.
Among those in attendance were families affected by childhood cancer, including North Bay residents Jacob Carriere and Brianne Langill, whose four-year-old daughter Grace is currently in treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
"She is still in active treatment," Langill explained to BayToday. "We travel back and forth from CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) and the hospital in Sudbury ... She's actively fighting leukemia. She has a really great prognosis."
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The flag-raising event was part of a growing effort to bring more visibility to the issue and to support families dealing with the realities of pediatric cancer.
"It's emotional," Langill, who helped organize the event, said about seeing the flag raised.
"You think about all the other families that are in it," added Carriere. "Grace is still fighting ... some other families aren't so lucky."
Around 20 people attended the ceremony. Wind tugged at the flag as it was hoisted. Councillor Lana Mitchell read the official proclamation.
"It's really important that the City's here and people are here to support," Mitchell told BayToday. "It affects way more people than people realize."
According to the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), nearly 500 children are diagnosed with cancer each year in the province. More than 4,500 families are currently navigating treatment or follow-up care.
Carriere says the community support they've received has been overwhelming since Grace's diagnosis.
"It takes a village," said Carriere. "And it was definitely more than a village that stepped up for us."
As part of the awareness campaign, families are encouraging people to "go gold" this month.
"Gold is the colour because they say, 'Kids are as precious as gold,'" Langill stated, as children in attendance ran through the square, laughing and playing.