September is childhood cancer awareness month. In the US, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day and 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer will die of the disease. In 2014, it is estimated that 15,780 children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 years were be diagnosed with cancer and around 2,000 died of the disease in the United States.
Joey’s Wings displays 2,000 origami cranes in through the country to honor 2,000 children whose lives are taken by cancer each year in the US. Each origami crane is beautifully folded and put into strings with beads and other hand-made ornament. 2,000 cranes will be displayed as a piece of art to raise money for advancing research dedicated to childhood cancer. After September, they will be displayed in public places like museums, libraries, churches, grocery stores, restaurants and businesses.
The crane in Japan is one of the most mystical creatures and is said to live for a thousand years. It represents a prayer and a wish for recovery, hence a powerful message of joy during a very difficult time. The ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. We do 2,000! Two wishes are granted, CURE and CURE!
2,000 origami cranes were up at Johnson & Johnson, La Jolla, California in Oct. 2023. Cranes have been a strong voice calling drug makers to increase the study of novel anti-cancer therapies in children. Children wait for new cancer drugs 6.5 years longer than adults. We’re calling for expanding children’s access to experimental cancer therapies.
Johnson & Johnson, La Jolla, CA
2,000 origami cranes at the Abrams planetarium in Michigan State University are now open to the public from September, 2022. We wish everyone who visits the Planetarium can go home with a wonderful artistic experience and inspiration, which is the voice for 47 children diagnosed every day in this country. This project is a collaboration between Boyang Twin Brothers Art and the Joey’s Wings Foundation.
Abrams Planetarium, Michigan
Our 2,000 origami cranes were displayed at the 2022 San Diego County Fair! We have received amazing response from the community. A big thank you to our 60 volunteers from San Diego Youth Care Club, Tutors Without Borders and Troop 782. They did an outstanding job with almost a month-long origami workshops, not only teaching kids how to fold paper, but also spreading awareness for childhood cancer.
2022 San Diego County Fair
You’re invited to a special Media & Community Viewing Day on Oct. 10th, 2019 from 4-6 pm at the Lobby D of San Diego Convention Center! Please come see >2,000 cranes, take some pictures, post on the social media and spread the awareness! Pediatric cancer only gets 4% of the research funding from the federal government, yet every year around 2,000 children die from cancer in this country. Children battling cancer don’t have voice. They need YOUR voices!
San Diego Convention Center
2,000 origami cranes are displayed at the Eli Lilly headquarters at Indianapolis. Cranes will continue to travel to all Lilly locations. 2,000 lives of children lost to cancer a year in the US. Let’s include children in the early studies of drug development!
We will not stop until one day the wish is granted: cure childhood cancer.
Eli Lilly, Indianapolis
From September 6 – October 2, 2017, the New Children’s Museum of San Diego displayed our 2,000 cranes for childhood cancer awareness. On Saturdays of September, museum hosted 4 sections of origami workshops. We sell some crane earrings and strings at the museum’s gift shop.
We will not stop until one day the wish is granted: cure childhood cancer.
San Diego Children’s Museum
For the entire month of September, 2015 — 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. We made the crane display to raise awareness about childhood cancer. We chose to make the cranes because origami was a favorite pastime of Joey’s.
Shands Children’s Hospital, Florida
This exhibit opens on Jun. 29th – Aug. 5th, 2016 at the Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, Fl. The education display includes photographs by Joyce Pearson and Stacey Steinberg, as well as a communal origami project that exemplifies the power of art to raise the spirit as a resource to illness, aging and death.