Every day 43 children are diagnosed with cancer, yet they lack safe treatment options. How is this happening? Why? The answer boils down to this : since childhood cancers amount to less than 1% of all cancer cases in one year, the cost of research and development tends to far outweigh the returns on sales, so there is little incentive for pharmaceuticals to invest in research.

It is infuriating that the lives of these children are dependent on totals in balance sheets.

Yet, this is the reality. Even though many of us don’t encounter the topic of pediatric cancer in their daily lives, it is still necessary that the issue be given the attention it deserves. A parent isn’t supposed to outlive their child. Still, this painful reality but this doesn’t seem to motivate pharmaceutical companies to undertake the cost of improving childhood cancer treatments.

But all is not lost.

Through community advocacy, fundraising and bringing attention to these inequalities, we all have the power to bring about change. That is why I became a supporter of With Purpose.

After losing their young son, Erin Benson and her husband founded the non-profit organization With Purpose, to answer those questions. I was fortunate enough to find myself involved in the Bateman Case Study Competition , tasked with creating a grass-roots campaign for this amazing organization.

Although the results of our efforts won’t be immediately tangible and it will be difficult to know the exact impact I had on advancing research funding and increasing treatment options for childhood cancers, I have been determined to do what I can. I feel that what important is that I’m rallying for a cause I wholeheartedly believe in.

Advocacy is the first step to inspiring a movement and enacting change.

Knowing I am a part of something bigger gives me a reason to live my life with the purpose of giving back to the communities in which I find myself.

At DePaul, I worked with a team of Public Relations students to design the With Purpose Comes Power campaign. With Purpose Comes Power inspires college students to use their superpowers (their social network, time, donation, and ability to advocate) to support kids with cancer. I was fortunate enough be a part of this movement to raise awareness of the issues surrounding childhood cancer: it’s the leading cause of death in children, research into treatment is not sufficiently funded, and clinical trials are not a priority.

How was With Purpose Comes Power able to enact change?

The campaign kicked off with a launch event at a joint DePaul-Loyola Young Professionals Networking event hosted by DePaul PRSSA. Superheroes is the theme of the campaign, designed to empower and inspire college students to use their innate powers for good to conquer childhood cancer. The campaign aimed to attract college superheroes as champions of the cause and use their social platforms as their primary power to spread the message. Moreover, we wanted to know why.

Why do other college students care about childhood cancer and how can they inspire others to become champions of the cause? They care because it’s an issue that too often overlooked, and children should be able to enjoy their childhoods to the fullest extent. These Superheroes kept the campaign going and spread awareness of childhood cancer.

Throughout the campaign, With Purpose Comes Power had an online presence on social media, sharing the stories of the Superheroes and where they get their inspiration from. #Herohighlights was an addition in our second week, aimed to help college-aged students share their own stories about who is a superhero in their life, how they use their powers for good to conquer childhood cancer, and why the issue is important to them.

To create concrete change within the state of Illinois, With Purpose Comes Power launched a petition. Aimed at US Senator Tammy Duckworth, this petition calls for increased funding for childhood cancer treatments and clinical trials.

Towards the end of the campaign, the five of us were able to visit La Rabida in the south side of Chicago to visit children who had just undergone treatments. We brought them the cards people made during our tabling events. Seeing their smiles and the joy on their faces as they read the empowering messages cemented my belief in doing small things for a greater good.