Childhood Cancer Awareness | A YAC Student Blog
Satvik Kannekanti is a sophmore at Olentangy Liberty High School.
Satvik Kannekanti
It’s widely known that September marks the beginning of Autumn and the end of Summer, however, we should not look past many other important issues in this month. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
Childhood Cancer affects thousands of children right before our eyes. Did you know that around 1 in every 285 children under the age of 20 will most likely develop cancer? That’s an estimate of 300,000 children affected per year!
In the past six months, we all have been acutely aware of an illness that was not anticipated and the average American has faced numerous issues during these unprecedented times, and yet, many children and their families continue to struggle with long-term illness.
Whether it is COVID-19 or battling cancer, it’s easy for adolescents to look past these issues. As a community, we should be more aware of children facing cancer, as they will become our world leaders in the next few decades.
As a proud Youth Advisory Council member, I feel the urge to spread childhood cancer awareness to the community. The Council has been greatly involved with supporting efforts that deal with Childhood Cancer Awareness. We’ve granted and sponsored over $4,000 to groups such as NC4K and A Kid Again Central Ohio.
On August 13, YAC granted NC4K $2,000. NC4K was created by Nellie Corriveau in 2009 as a program to support kids fighting cancer. After the loss of Corriveau’s grandma, it motivated her to spread awareness as she realized how underfunded and understaffed childhood cancer is. Initially, she created a fashion show fundraiser but kept growing her goals and events. Without the community and first responders, much of this funding would have never happened. Donors, interns, and volunteers are an essential part of developing fundraisers and events. Creating a sense of excitement in cancer-affected kids to go back to school is one of the best possible ways for the kids to feel welcomed. The parents don’t have to worry about buying school supplies, and the kids can have a fun night. This is one of the best community-oriented events.
Similar to the idea of NC4K, A Kid Again is another program YAC has sponsored. A Kid Again incorporates a twist by not only focusing on kids with cancer but also kids with special needs and life-threatening illnesses. A Kid Again has served over 900 families in Central Ohio since 1995. This year they plan to have an event with 2,000 families at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The event will be called “Dreamnight at the Zoo”. Goals for this event would be to provide comfort, make attendees smile with family experiences, and give parents a night just to enjoy being with their family away from hospitals and clinics. Events like these help the kids not feel left out. According to A Kid Again, 90% of the kids said they feel greater acceptance by others and fear being out in public less because of their events and community. This is one of the most important parts of this event, as kids with life-threatening diseases or special needs are viewed differently by others which in turn makes them feel insecure.
As a YAC member supporting events like these will push more and more community members to join in, donate, and spread awareness to others.
Over the years awareness for cancer in the month of September has increased, and I hope to raise the number by a bit more. Knowing the facts, the overall awareness of childhood cancer is extremely important. Therefore, spreading information, donating to groups, and providing support to the community is immensely important.