What would you do if you were an 8 year-old cancer survivor? Help other kids like you, of course! At least, that is what Grant decided to do. He told his mom, Christal that he wanted to help other kids with cancer.
“We had so much support when Grant was in treatment. It was important for Grant and our family to find a way to give back. When I found your company online, I knew it would be a great way for us to contribute and would help families in the area, which had been a big struggle for us at that time,” Christal explained.
She reached out to Compass to Care to set up a fundraiser involving Replace the Lace shoelaces and Dina Dolls and “Help Grant Get Kids to Cancer Treatment” was born. We set them up with an online order page, and he shared it with his school, his family, and friends.
Christal ordered a few pair of our custom, gold shoelaces for their family to wear, and for Grant to display. Grant also made signs and posters. He convinced his school to let him set up a booth outside for a special fundraiser day. They set a goal of raising $40 for Compass to Care.
When his campaign was finished, Grant had sold 20 pairs of laces and 20 Dina Dolls, raising $300 for Compass to Care to use to get other kids to cancer treatment!
That’s not all! When you buy a Dina Doll, we send another one to a child that has cancer. Usually, Compass to Care would mail those dolls out, but Grant made a special request. He wanted to hand deliver all the Dina Dolls to the hospital where he had received treatment for his cancer. 
When the dolls arrived, Grant and Christal made the 186-mile round trip to Northern California Pediatric Hematology and Oncology one more time. This time they had smiles on their faces.
“It was so heartwarming to visit there in order to give back. They were very excited to have such a big box full of Dina Dolls to offer the kids who visit their office,” Christal shared.
Grant also made another special delivery. He visited a local cancer patient, 2-year old Camden, and presented him with his very own Dina Doll.
Christal is so proud of her son, and says he is looking forward to doing it again.
“It was such a great experience and Grant was so proud to participate,” she said.
Grant’s Cancer Story, in his mother’s words.
Grant was a super healthy toddler who had never had the flu, let alone something more serious. He had a clean bill of health at his two-year-old checkup in March 2011. Within two months, a tumor had grown large enough for us to feel. Although he was otherwise symptom free, we began investigating and our worst nightmares were realized. Less than a week later, a cantaloupe sized, stage II Wilm’s tumor and right kidney were removed from his little body. His surgeon, nurses and oncologists were amazing and acted quickly before the cancer was able to spread. He underwent chemotherapy treatment throughout the rest of the year, giving new meaning to the name Grant “Kimo” Proctor (a now ironic Hawaiian middle name!) He had a celebrated port removal surgery for Christmas that year. We were blessed to have him be three and cancer free! Now we are getting ready to celebrate his 9th birthday on March 4th! He races Outlaw Karts, loves science and is a super charming young man.