The art of hope - Origami crane display honors Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

For the entire month of September — Childhood Cancer Awareness Month — 2,000 origami cranes will be on display in the University of Florida Health Shands Children's Hospital Sebastian Ferrero Atrium. This piece of art honors the lives of approximately 2,000 children lost to cancer every year in the U.S. Each crane is a unique piece of origami meant to symbolize comfort, peace and healing.

Kathy Liu lost her son Joey in November 2014 from renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer. In March 2015, she established a non-profit charity in memory of her son: Joey’s Wings Foundation. Its mission is to support researchers whose work is focused on pediatric kidney cancer — and to promote education and advocacy efforts for parents. Liu and volunteers made the crane display to raise awareness about childhood cancer. They chose to make the cranes because origami was a favorite pastime of Joey’s. For more information or to donate to the organization, visit JoeyWings.org.