When Grainne Owen gave birth to twins, she had to work hard to keep up with her sports loving and exuberant son, Killian. When Killian was five years old, however, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. During Killian’s four and half year battle with the disease, doctors informed Grainne and her husband, Clay, that they had located a potential cure for Killian’s cancer but did not have the money to get it into treatment.

When Killian passed away, Grainne founded Curing Kid’s Cancer. In memory of Killian’s love for sports, Grainne encouraged children’s sports teams in search for a post season gift for their coach, to make a donation to the charity in the coach’s honor. Since 2005, Grainne raised $6 million and named The Aflac Cancer Center at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta one of the main beneficiaries by endowing the Killian Owen Curing Kids Cancer Clinical Research Office with a $1.5 million endowment. Today, the charity has been able to fund some of the most cutting edge innovative treatments now available, giving any child battling the illness a better chance at survival.

To find out more about Curing Kids Cancer, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.