by Christina Echegaray
P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative, along with Buffalo Bills football player Dawson Knox, recently presented Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt with a gift of “Luke’s Locker” in memory of his brother. The Locker will help ease some of the challenges families face during childhood cancer treatments.
P.U.N.T.’s Locker program, which originated in Western New York, donates daily essentials such as gift cards and vouchers for gasoline, restaurants, groceries, etc., to help patients and caregivers with basic necessities for their medical care journeys.
Since joining the NFL, Knox has made significant contributions to the organization and spent time at Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, along with some of his teammates. His entire family was on hand for the presentation at Monroe Carell to join him in supporting P.U.N.T.’s mission to expand the P.U.N.T. Locker program to Tennessee.
The program expansion at Monroe Carell is named “Luke’s Locker” to honor Knox’s younger brother, Luke Knox, who died in August 2022.
As a tribute to Luke, donations poured in to the organization by Buffalo Bills fans in support of Dawson.
During his visits to the Buffalo children’s hospital, Dawson Knox realized the power of his platform as a professional athlete to help others, and to “bring a smile to some of the faces that are dealing with so many hardships was pretty amazing,” he said.
“My whole family’s here in Nashville. So, it’s always been kind of one of my passions to get something going here as well. I think this is a pretty incredible way to keep Luke’s legacy going.”
The P.U.N.T. staff flew in from Western New York to join the Knox family for the presentation. “P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative is honored to share that as part of the stewardship of these resources, we will be establishing ‘Luke’s Locker’ here in Nashville,” said Gwen Mysiak, executive director of P.U.N.T. “On behalf of our team here at P.U.N.T., and those that we will serve with these resources, we thank you for sharing this moment of impact, compassion and generosity.”
The teams on the front line at Monroe Carell see firsthand the needs of families and children going through their cancer journeys and are grateful for continued community philanthropy to aid families.
“Our Pediatric Cancer Program takes a team approach, caring for the whole child and the whole family,” said Debra Friedman, MD, who holds the E. Bronson Ingram Chair of Pediatric Oncology and is director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Monroe Carell. “This gift from P.U.N.T. to establish ‘Luke’s Locker’ will provide vital support for childhood cancer patients while also honoring Luke’s legacy of kindness and compassion.”
