Joining a club in college can be scary.
Which one is right for me? What do we do? How much time do I have to spend on this club? I was lucky enough to pick the club that has taught me love, sacrifice, friendship and hopefulness. UPLIFT, a club at the College of Charleston, is a free monthly program designed for children ages 6-17 who have been affected by a parent or caregiver's cancer. Members of the UPLIFT team work throughout the year planning various programs to "engage children in fun and healthy activities."
The UPLIFT program is student-led, teaching the volunteers how to take care of children though training and workshops. Almost everyone can link cancer to themselves in some way whether it be a family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker.
Often times when we think of cancer we think of the person suffering and everything they must be going through.
Our club decided not only to look at the patients, but their children as well. They too are suffering and UPLIFT was created to ease that pain and confusion with a play based approach.
Some uplift activities include bowling, aquarium visits, holiday parties, BBQ's, and our most famous fundraising event: Hike For Mike. UPLIFT is a non-profit and our annual hike raises our funds for the year allowing the children to enjoy these activities at no cost. The hike itself was created by the UPLIFT team members and Anna Lonon, the founder of The Lonon Foundation.
Anna Lonon has to be one of the strongest women who I, along with all other members have met. Michael, Anna's husband was diagnosed with Head and Neck Cancer when he was just 29 years old. Unfortunately after a brave fight Michael passed away in 2014.
As mentioned on The Lonon Foundations website, "at the time of his passing, their son, Jack, was just four years old, and their daughter, Harper Rose, was only three months old. Jack needed a way to cope with the loss of his father...after attending the camp in Summer 2016, Jack came home more at peace." This sparked the idea of creating a place for children to have fun, to explore their imagination- to simply just feel like a kid.
Anna decided to create local resources to help children in the Lowcountry, one being formally known as UPLIFT. If you would like to read more about this organization or help these kids play in any way feel free to visit thelononfoundation.org and don't forget to reach out in your community as Anna did. I am proud to be a member of this club. I am proud to hike in honor of those affected by cancer. I am proud to help these children just be kids.
In Memory of Micheal Lonon and all those who have lost their battle to cancer.
"Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy" - Eskimo Legend