Kellogg kids can make a difference

In early 2005, 10-year-old Ford Martin (son of Ted '83) had obscured a large portion of his lower arm with a rainbow of rubber bracelets, each popularized by a different person and purchased to raise money for a different cause. He'd covered all the basics, with one notable exception: He didn't have one for Nick.

Nick, a friend of Ford and the son of Ted's friend Mike Schield '83, has been battling leukemia and bone-marrow transplant side effects for more than 10 years.

Father and son agreed that they'd get a bracelet for Nick if they had to make it themselves. The next day, Martin typed "bracelets in China" into Google and called one factory after another until he reached someone who spoke English.

Meanwhile, the two boys put their heads together and hammered out a plan. Nick came up with the bracelet's text, "KIDS CAN," to remind those with cancer to keep fighting it and those without that they can help by raising awareness and funds for research. Ford thought designing the bracelets in two striped colors — blue and green — rather than the traditional single, solid color would make their bracelets stand out in the market.

Before he knew it, Martin was writing a check for $1,000 to cover the production costs for the first wave of bracelets.

The bracelets were a hit. So big a hit, in fact, that Martin eventually decided to turn the project over to the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund, which sponsors cancer research and treatment, including the Milwaukee center where Nick is treated. To date, Martin says the bracelets have raised more than $25,000 for the MACC Fund.

For more information, visit kidscanbracelets.org.