My passion for raising money for pediatric cancer comes from something I lived through myself. Before I was a World Series champ or even close to the big leagues, I was an 18-year-old kid trying to chase a dream. Then I got hit with a diagnosis I never saw coming—Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Going through chemo was brutal. It was scary, painful, and completely threw my life off track. But even in the middle of all that, what really opened my eyes was seeing the families around me. Parents sleeping in hospital chairs, kids fighting like absolute warriors, siblings trying to keep it together—it was humbling. I also saw how much cancer wears a family down. The bills, the travel, the missed work, the stress… it doesn’t just hit the patient. It hits everyone. When I finished treatment and was eventually told I was in remission, I made myself a promise: if baseball ever gave me a platform, I’d use it to help families going through what mine went through. That’s how the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation started. With the Foundation, we focus on supporting pediatric cancer patients and their families because I know exactly how tough that road is. We try to lift some of the weight off their shoulders—whether that’s financial help, emotional support, or just making their days a little bit brighter during an impossible time. Raising money for pediatric cancer isn’t just a cause to me. It’s personal. It’s part of who I am. Every dollar we raise helps a family breathe a little easier—and after what I’ve seen, that means everything.