ACS Invites Kids to Play in the Dirt to Fight Childhood Cancer

Most parents don’t tell their children to go play in the dirt – but this month, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, there’s an excellent reason to do just that! The American Cancer Society has created a stay-at-home event that encourages children to get messy in order to raise funds for pediatric cancer.

It’s called The Little Dig. You can register your child and post them having fun in the dirt, garden, mud, sand, with paint, silly string or food – whatever strikes your fancy. And for every child registered for this fun-raising activity, Easterns Autmotive Group will contribute $200 to their fundraising. Join us and register your child at http://acsengage.org/littledigdc. The competition runs through September 30, 2020.

Easterns Automotive is one of the sponsors of The Big Dig, which was postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19. At The Big Dig, children and event sponsors get the opportunity to experience operating heavy equipment, including real excavators, bulldozers, front loaders, dump trucks and more, with the assistance of a professional. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the construction industry, the event was to take place in Ashburn, Virginia this fall.

So, The Big Dig volunteer committee created an alternative – called The Little Dig, which is already going strong and raising funds to benefit pediatric cancer research. Did you know that on average 200 children are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. every week, and more than 16,000 children in the US will be newly diagnosed with cancer this year alone?

What better way to fight this heart-breaking disease than have your kids compete to fundraise by playing in the dirt wherever you choose. Then, post fun pictures or videos of them playing in the dirt on The Little Dig DC event dashboard and invite your friends and family to vote by donating. Kids who raise $250 or more will be mailed The Little Dig kit which includes a commemorative shovel, lots of fun kids construction swag and an exclusive Little Dig t-shirt.

Five prizes will be awarded. Winners will be announced October 1, 2020 and receive their prizes. They can look forward to receiving a certificate at The Big Dig 2021 event scheduled for September 18, 2021 at the Ashbrook Corporate Center and will be featured in a promotional video for The Big Dig 2021.

Winning Categories:

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• Most Money Raised
• Most Individual Donations
• Most Actively Involved
• Most Creative Dig
• Most Dirty

The Big Dig of the National Capital Area in 2021 expects to draw more 1,000 participants. For more information on The Little Dig or The Big Dig, contact: shiri.rozenberg@cancer.org.

The American Cancer Society thanks the sponsors and founding committee of The Big Dig and The Little Dig: Capretti Land, Easterns Automotive Group, Independence Excavating, Inova Children’s Hospital, K & H Landscaping, Merritt Companies, Northern Virginia Orthodontics, Scrub Daddy, Van Metre and Veatch Commercial Real Estate.