Jennifer Bonita, Eric Speicher’s aunt, uses a step stool to place a gold ribbon on a light standard on Luzerne Ave., West PIttston, during the ribbon campaign in 2019.
                                 Tony Callaio | File photo

Jennifer Bonita, Eric Speicher’s aunt, uses a step stool to place a gold ribbon on a light standard on Luzerne Ave., West PIttston, during the ribbon campaign in 2019.

Tony Callaio | File photo

<p>Rosalie Cullagh, Eric Spiecher’s grandmother, stands next to gold ribbons that were placed in locations all over Wyoming Valley, signify September as pediatric cancer awareness month in honor of Eric who died of a brain tumor on December 23, 2013. Little Eric’s Foundation will be holding a balloon release at the West Pittston Little League, Agolino’s Restaurant parking lot and the former West Pittston Armory at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 30.</p>
                                 <p>Tony Callaio | File photo</p>

Rosalie Cullagh, Eric Spiecher’s grandmother, stands next to gold ribbons that were placed in locations all over Wyoming Valley, signify September as pediatric cancer awareness month in honor of Eric who died of a brain tumor on December 23, 2013. Little Eric’s Foundation will be holding a balloon release at the West Pittston Little League, Agolino’s Restaurant parking lot and the former West Pittston Armory at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 30.

Tony Callaio | File photo

<p>Lanterns lit the West Pittston sky in 2019 in honor of Eric Spiecher who succumbed to brain cancer in 2013. This year, Little Eric’s Foundation will be releasing biodegradable balloons at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 30, to honor Eric and to note September as pediatric cancer awareness month.</p>
                                 <p>Tony Callaio | File photo</p>

Lanterns lit the West Pittston sky in 2019 in honor of Eric Spiecher who succumbed to brain cancer in 2013. This year, Little Eric’s Foundation will be releasing biodegradable balloons at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 30, to honor Eric and to note September as pediatric cancer awareness month.

Tony Callaio | File photo

<p>Eric Spiecher, Christmas 2012</p>
                                 <p>Tony Callaio | File photo</p>

Eric Spiecher, Christmas 2012

Tony Callaio | File photo

WEST PITTSTON – September is pediatric cancer awareness month, which hits home with the Speicher family when their son Eric, Jr. passed away from brain cancer on Dec. 23, 2013, a battle he fought for 2 ½-years.

Prior to Eric’s diagnosis, he led the life of a normal pre-teen playing baseball, basketball, being on student council, playing street hockey and being an altar server at Corpus Christi Parish. Eric touched so many lives in his 14-year life, when he passed away, the entire Wyoming Area community mourned his loss.

Eric’s parents, Eric Sr. and Jessica Speicher, set out to keep their young son’s memory alive by creating the Little Eric’s Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, to spread the awareness of pediatric cancer on May 2014.

One of Little Eric’s Foundation’s yearly fundraisers is a ribbons and bows campaign, which took place in Wyoming Valley this past week. Purchased gold bows were placed on at the Luzerne County Courthouse, Public Square, the Speicher’s hometown of West Pittston and in Plains Township. Each year the foundation will sell approximately 1,500 ribbons.

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Placing bows and banners in West Pittston will take place today.

Through monies raised in the last six years, the Little Eric’s Foundation has donated over $200,000 to research as was as nearly $25,000 to local families dealing with pediatric cancer.

“In the past ever spring, there is an event called Cycling for Survival across the country and we donate a lump sum to that is doing research in pediatric brain tumors or pediatric cancer in general,” Speicher said. “We’re happy with the progress we’ve made since we started; each year gaining more then the prior year. This year will have an asterisk next to it due to COVID and us cancelling so many events.”

Due to COVID-19, three other Little Eric Foundation fundraisers were cancelled, the Ohio Great Day of Music (May 2020), 3rd Annual Whiffle Ball Classic (June 2020), and the 6th Annual Little Eric’s Game Night: Play for a Cure (September 2020).

A balloon release honoring Eric Jr. and all those fighting or who lost their battle to pediatric cancer will take place today at three West Pittston locations, the Little League, Agolino’s Restaurant parking lot, and the former Armory on Susquehanna Ave., at 5:30 p.m.

“We didn’t want to have a lot of people all together,” Eric Sr. explaining why the balloon release will take place at three different locations. “We thought it would be neat if we released the first set of balloons and 34 seconds later, release the second set of balloons and 34 seconds later, release the third set and have people video record it.”

The number 34 signifies the number Eric Jr. wore on all of his uniforms.

“It’s amazing how many people stood behind us after we made up our minds to start the foundation,” Speicher said. “People offering to do this or offering to do that every year and a little bit more comes about we’re happy in the direction we’re trending.”

For more information on or to donate to Little Eric’s Foundation, you can go to www.littleericsfoundation.org. To learn more about pediatric cancer, you can go to www.cancer.gov/types/childhood-cancers or www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-in-children.html.

Pediatric cancer facts

ALL types of childhood cancers combined receive only 4% of U.S. federal funding for cancer research.

• Cancer is still the 2nd leading cause of death (following accidents) in children ages 5-14.

• An estimated 10,450 new cases are expected to occur among children 0-14 in 2014.

1,350 of these cases will result in death.

• In adolescence ages 15-19 5,330 new cases will be expected with 610 resulting in death.

• The most common cancers among children and adolescence vary by age.

Cancers that are most common in children 0-14 are:

• acute lymphocytic leukemia- 26%

• brain and central nervous system- 21%

• neuroblastoma- 7%

• non-Hodgkin lymphoma- 6%

The most common cancers ages 15-19 are:

• Hodgkin lymphoma- 15%

• thyroid carcinoma- 11%

• brain and central nervous system- 10%

• testicular germ cell tumors- 8%