Cowboys Who Care Foundation and Resistol Hats Team Up to Provide Free Cowboy and Cowgirl Hats to Kids with Cancer

Fort Worth, TX (PRWEB) June 22, 2012

Cowboys Who Care Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides support, smiles and free cowboy hats to kids with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, is proud to announce that Hatco, the maker of Resistol Hats will provide 155 cowboy hats to the participants at Camp COCO, a summer camp for kids with cancer.

The idea behind Cowboys Who Care Foundation came from the foundation’s President, Founder and CEO, Cowboy Bill Martin. Two years ago Martin, a comedian/writer, was asked to do a fundraiser/golf tournament for a young fan named Ashley Miller who bravely lost her battle with a rare form of cancer in July of last year.

Martin explained, “Since her passing I knew I wanted to help other kids like Ashley if I could. Then one day, I was at my computer and searched, “Kids with cancer Images” and found these beautiful pictures of these kids with wonderful smiles and baldheads. And in the mirror, I could see my cowboy hat and it hit me, these kids need cowboy hats. So I put together a team of entertainers, rodeo and promotions people to form CWCF, because what kid wants to wear a wig, but what kid, healthy or otherwise, wouldn’t want to wear a cowboy hat?”

It was within hours of going on line with the foundation that the first request came in and it was from Camp COCO. (COCO stands for Children’s Oncology Camp Organization). Camp COCO is a program of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics in Springfield, Illinois, since 1986 and is a one-week camp for kids with cancer provided at no charge to the campers.

Camp COCO is designed to help campers overcome the physical, mental and emotional barriers posed by cancer. Camp COCO is a medically supervised and accredited week of camp for central and downstate Illinois children with cancer and related blood disorders, ages 6-17 held at a handicap accessible camp on Lake Bloomington, Illinois. Every year the theme is different and this year it just happened to be “Wild Wild West” and they are expecting 155 campers!

“I can’t tell you how excited we are, here at CWCF”, Martin went on to say, “Camp COCO was our first large request and no matter what, we were going to get those hats. But then Stan Redding and his team at Hatco stepped-in and really came through thanks in-part to relationships we already had with two of our Board Directors, rodeo announcer/trick roper, Anthony Lucia and singer/songwriter, Steve Helms.”

Not only is Resistol providing the 155 hats that Camp COCO needs, but they are also sending hats for the volunteers, counselors and staff. “We are truly pleased to be a part of this organization and for a most worthy cause”, Mr. Redding said. Resistol Hats, made in Garland, Texas has been the leader in the western hat industry for over eighty years.

Martin, a father of three, added, “We are getting more requests every day and our goals are simple. We want to bring awareness to people about children’s cancers and other life-threatening illnesses and provide 1 million free cowboy hats to boys and girls suffering from these illnesses in the next 5 years. It’s going to take a lot of work but once people become more aware of our organization, I think they will see the importance that it provides. Plus, it’s tangible. You know what your donations are going towards.”

It is our belief that there is nothing more precious than a child’s smile. A cowboy hat is still a symbol of bravery, honor and now with your help, compassion.

If you would like to donate or learn more about Cowboys Who Care Foundation, please visit our website, http://www.cowboyswhocare.org

To learn more about Camp COCO, please visit their website, http://www.siucampcoco.org

And to learn more about Resistol Hats, please visit their websites, http://www.resistol.com

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