If you visit ArtsGoggle, the annual art fair in Fort Worth’s Near Southside neighborhood, your ears are likely to catch the joyful tune of a fiddle being played by Jeremy Irwin, a neurodivergent teen with a touch of shyness to him.

As his music fills the air, passersby fill his instrument case with tips. Yet Jeremy’s pockets aren’t the final destination of those gifts. Instead, those contributions go to the Moncrief Cancer Institute, also in Near Southside.

While not cancer patients themselves, Jeremy and his parents developed an awareness of the work done at Moncrief, part of UT Southwestern’s cancer care services in Fort Worth, to remove barriers to cancer screening and care. Now Jeremy devotes his time, his heart, and his music to reduce the burden of cancer across North Texas.

Though Jeremy is quiet about his annual gift of music and the resulting contributions, his ability to blend giving with his talent is the perfect example of playing one’s part to better the lives of others.