Last time I spoke with you about a charity, I wrote about SU2C and how my life has been affected by cancer through the loss of my loved ones. I’ve been passionate about the eradication of this horrible disease since I was a child, so I look for charities to support in my cause. Today, I’m introducing you to a Canadian Charity that I came across through the actor Stephen Amell, star of the show Arrow. That charity is so aptly named “Fuck Cancer.”
In 2009, Yael Cohen Braun (pictured on the left) founded Fuck Cancer after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2010, Julie Greenbaum founded F*ck Cancer in honor of her late mother, who had lost her life to ovarian cancer. These were two young Canadian women, with no knowledge of each other, each on a mission to change the way people thought of cancer and to change the education on cancer and early detection. In 2015, the two organizations merged into one, Fuck Cancer.
The mission statement from the organization is:
Fuck Cancer, a 501 (c)3 nonprofit and registered Canadian charity, is dedicated to early detection, prevention and providing support to those affected by cancer. We do this through digital initiatives, programs, events and funding research that will change the way people think and talk about cancer and ultimately improve health outcomes.
The charity has a huge celebrity involvement and is constantly holding events. Since 2009, the two organizations, before joining forces, had raised over $2 million. The board boasts the aforementioned Stephen Amell, along with Sophia Bush, and Charlie Walk, EVP of Republic Records.
Perhaps the most in-your-face member of the FuckCancer board is Amell. His crusade started in 2012 when his mother was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. One day, after a lunch date, Stephen and his mother took a picture and he gave a middle finger to the camera and captioned it “fuck cancer”, not realizing an organization with the same name existed. They got in touch via Twitter and the rest is crusading history. On November 11, 2016, Amell teamed up again with Represent, an internet company that allows users to design and sell custom merchandise to generate funds or awareness for various causes. This is Amell’s third campaign with Represent. His previous two campaigns raised $1,077,000. You can find the new campaign here. It runs from November 11 to 7 pm PST November 25, 2016.
The charity throws “parties” throughout Canada and the United States that double as fundraising events. You can donate here. The organization calls its community Gen-C. “Gen-C is defined by a behavior rather than a birth date, they consume digital content as their main source of information and may span across traditional generations. With wit, edge, and humor, our community is a safe space for people to learn, share and support each other in moments when they need it most.”
You can follow Fuck Cancer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also shop in their store here! I encourage you to check out their site and learn as much as you can about how we can better our world and work towards early detection and hopefully, someday, completely eradicate cancer.
