Toby Keith has been touched by childhood cancer. One of his original band mates lost his daughter Allison in August of 2003 to a form of kidney cancer called Wilm's tumor.

The country singer is sponsoring the fourth annual charity golf tournament that will once again benefit the families of children fighting cancer. The event will begin with an auction and party in downtown Oklahoma City on April 27, and continue with the golf tournament the following morning.

The proceeds will benefit Ally's house, which Keith helped establish in memory of his friend's daughter. The charity helps pay for medical bills, prescriptions, housing, transportation, toys, food, clothing and other expenses for families that have children with cancer.

Some of the items to be auctioned off are:

• Trip to see Keith in concert in Las Vegas
• Memorabilia from Garth Brooks, Sammy Hagar and Bob Seger
• Sports memorabilia autographed by Tiger Woods and baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle

Toby Keith comments about Ally's House -- "This is a special charity to me. I saw firsthand how a child's cancer diagnosis can devastate a family. Please join me in supporting these kids through Ally's House."

Celebrities can bring awareness to cancer causes. Celebrities can attract money to cancer fundraisers. Celebrities influence our society in fashion and lifestyle trends. Whether you are one who thinks celebrities have too much influence, and wondering why there seems a global obsession with celebrity -- or you are someone who applauds the efforts of those who have risen to success in fame and fortune and take time to give back, there is no doubting celebrities have power. And even when celebrities aren't trying to make a difference, they do, by the simple fact they are a celebrity.

A news story out of Canada is reporting that young girls, inspired by fair-skinned celebrities like Australian actress Nicole Kidman, are rejecting the fashion standard that a tan makes you attractive and embracing what they are calling the pale and proud of it attitude. When it comes to reducing the rising incidence of skin cancer, this couldn't come as better news. Really good news since it is in the young where a shocking number of new skin cancer cases are being diagnosed, a trend that is fairly recent to our times.

In January of this year, Toby Keith founded the Toby Keith Foundation to benefit a number of charitable organizations within the state of Oklahoma, including Ally's House. Allison Faith Webb, affectionately called Ally by family and friends, was the daughter of Toby's friend and former band mate Scott Webb. Ally was diagnosed with Wilm’s Tumor, a form of kidney cancer before she was two years old, and lost her young life to cancer a year later. Her family, in memory of Ally, founded Ally's House, with a mission and purpose of helping other families get through the difficult journey when a child is diagnosed with cancer.

For the last three years, Keith has supported Ally's House with the Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic, an annual golf and music fundraiser. This year's celebrity golf tournament, silent auction, gala dinner and concert will take place on May 21-22, in Norman, Oklahoma.