Child’s Play With a Serious Objective

Forget the thrilling drives that sailed down the fairways, the breathtaking vistas.

For John Mash, the best part of playing in the Rod Carew Children’s Cancer Golf Tournament in Trabuco Canyon was being with his 10-year-old son, John Jr.

Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 2 1/2, John Jr. was the first person in Southern California to receive an umbilical-cord blood-cell transplant as part of his treatment. The procedure involves transplanting cells from a newborn’s umbilical cord to stimulate production of normal blood cells in a cancer patient.

“He beat me on every hole,” John Mash Sr. said. “It was a total blessing to have him be able to play with me.”

Funds raised Monday at the Dove Canyon Country Club tournament will go to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation in Irvine. Founded in 1982, the nonprofit organization has raised $10 million to help improve the care, quality of life and survival rate of children with malignant diseases.

For John Jr., the best part of the day was hanging out with his dad and “driving the golf cart.”

Carew, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, lent his name to the foundation’s annual golf tourney in 1996 after losing his 18-year-old daughter, Michelle, to acute non-lymphocytic leukemia.

“It’s been great to be part of this tournament,” said Carew, whose daughter also underwent an umbilical-cord blood transplant after a matching bone-marrow donor could not be found. “Every year, it’s been a sellout. People keep coming back because they know what it’s for--to help kids with cancer.”

When his daughter was losing her seven-month battle with leukemia, Carew pleaded for people across the country to sign up as potential bone-marrow donors after he saw how few African Americans and other minorities were registered in the National Marrow Donor Program.

Within weeks, more than 70,000 calls to the marrow program were generated, many of them from minorities heeding Carew’s plea.

Carew is still urging people to sign up.

“We need to increase public awareness about the importance of marrow matches,” he said. “Until we find another way to help these children, it can be all they’ve got.”

To contact the foundation: (949) 727-7483. The National Marrow Donation program: (800) MARROW-2.

Striding Toward a Cure

On Sunday, thousands of supporters of the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation will help raise funds when they participate in its annual Walk-A-Thon at the Irvine Spectrum.

At the end of the event, the Devon’s Star Memorial Award will be given to the corporate team that raises the most money for cancer research.

The award was named for Devon Muscariello, a 5-year-old girl who died of leukemia in February.

The only child of Karen and Sam Muscariello--both of whom are employed by Western Digital in Irvine--little Devon “touched many people,” her mother said. “People just fell in love with her.”

The couple decided to create the award to honor their daughter’s memory.

“You never stop crying over such a tragedy,” Karen said, “but, if you are people of faith, you try to bring some good from it.”

The award has “star” in its title because of a bedtime ritual that Karen and her daughter liked to perform.

“I’d tell her, ‘I love you to the moon and back,’ ” Karen said. “And she would answer, ‘I love you to the stars and front.’ She dreamed up that comeback when she was 3 years old.”

For information on the Walk-A-Thon: (949) 727-7483.

Spencer’s Treasures

When little Spencer Stockton of Huntington Beach underwent treatments for brain cancer, the thought of receiving a special toy saw him through each of his procedures.

“After each treatment, I’d take him to a fast-food restaurant or to a store and get him a small toy,” his mother, Teresa Stockton said.

When 5-year-old Spencer died earlier this year, his mother founded Spencer’s Treasures, a toy-outreach project. Teresa and her husband, Ron, hope it will bring joy to other children who must undergo painful medical treatments.

“We want to provide chests full of small toys for children at medical centers and hospitals because we know how much they meant to Spencer,” Teresa said. “When children get their treatments, they’ll know there will be a toy waiting for them--a reward for being brave. The toys really reflect Spencer. He loved them so much.”

So far, the Stocktons have placed chests full of toys at Children’s Hospital of Orange County’s Neuroscience Institute, St. Joseph Regional Cancer Center in Orange and the City of Hope in Duarte.

To donate toys for Spencer’s Treasures: (714) 378-1124.

Saluting Youths

Andrea Gordon, an 18-year-old UC Irvine student from Orange, received the Ann Martin Award for Scholastic Achievement during the annual Southern Area Fostercare Effort (SAFE) luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena.

The annual awards ceremony honors former foster children who have overcome tremendous obstacles to become successful members of their communities.

Also recognized at the recent event was Jamal Wright of Tustin, a 23-year-old peer counselor at the Orangewood Children’s Home and Khoi Phan of Costa Mesa, a 21-year-old senior at UC Irvine.

Besides its work with graduates of the foster-care system, SAFE aims to find families for children in Southern California who need foster care or a permanent home.

For information: (714) 939-3090.

Ann Conway can be reached at (714) 966-5952 or by e-mail at ann.conway@latimes.com.