Andy Grammer Performs At Gala For Children's Cancer Research Fund

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A pop musician is taking the stage in Minneapolis Saturday night for a cause close to his heart.

Andy Grammer performed at the Armory for Dream 2019 – a fundraising gala for the Children's Cancer Research Fund.

It's the 38th year for the event, which was started by a young Minnesotan whose battle against the deadly disease is making waves decades later.

"Years ago, my sister Katie died of leukemia. She had just turned 13 and once she knew that she was gonna pass away, she asked my parents the $100 she had saved for a 10-speed bike and put it to a good cause" said Betsy Schill, Dream 2019 co-chair.

That cause was CCRF, which hosted its first gala that same year, raising $50,000. Since then, it has raised $170 million with the money going toward research to cure cancer and give patients better, more comfortable treatment.

"We're gonna get there, we just have to keep going. Things are better than they were by far, but we just have to keep pushing," Schill said.

For Grammer, this wasn't simply a chance to put on a show but help ensure children fighting cancer have the strength to keep battling.

"So, I lost my mom. We just had her 10-year memorial to cancer – breast cancer, and it affects so many people, Grammer said. "So anytime that I, with my music, can help fight that, that's one of my favorite things to do."