Colleges Against Cancer
2019 Outstanding and Civic Engagement Award Winner
The primary goal of Colleges Against Cancer is to find a cure for cancer through education, advocacy, and funding for the American Cancer Society. As the daughter organization of the American Cancer Society, Colleges Against Cancer initiates and supports the programs of the ACS on the college campus. This organization is crafted to allow students, staff, and community members to work through various channels to fund research for a cure as well as support individuals as their lives are affected by cancer, both financially and emotionally. Every year, Colleges Against Cancer hosts an event called Relay For Life. Relay For Life is the major event they plan and focus their time and resources on. It is a worldwide event put on by the American Cancer Society in an effort to raise funds for cancer research and cancer patients. The event is 24 hours long, during which they encourage participants to stay active, stay up late with their teams, and hold on-site fundraisers to support the American Cancer Society's mission of creating a world with more birthdays. Relay For Life has raised roughly $5 billion for the American Cancer Society overall, in the hopes that we will one day find a cure to the disease that takes too many.
Community outreach and engagement is something Colleges Against Cancer works to accomplish throughout the year whether it be directly on the Davis campus, in the Davis community, Yolo County, or the Sacramento campus. The organization has worked to establish strong connections with UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UC Davis Health System. Some speakers for the Relay For Life 2019 event included Professor & Associate Dean of Public Health Sciences at the UC Davis School of Medicine, Dr. Brad Pollock M.P.H., Ph.D., as well as Professor of Pediatrics and Chief for the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Dr. Marcio Malogolowkin, MD. They aim to continue to create lasting connections with people as their work continues.
All of the planning, hard work, and dedication from the Executive and Event Leadership Team coupled with bringing community members together to finally put an end to cancer is the principle reason why this organization does what it does throughout the school year. Through their close ties to the ACS, they are united with Relays from other college campuses and communities across the country all working towards the same goal. Their club serves as a support system and a sense of hope for all those affected by cancer. There is a sense of belonging amongst all branches of the ACS community, truly signifying that no one is in this fight alone. Despite all of their differences in academic interests, hobbies, and career goals, they all share the common passion of coming together to collectively lead the fight for a world without cancer.
