HOW IT ALL STARTED
It all started on May 20th 2017, at Cooper High School in New Hope Minnesota. It was the day of our "Relay For Life" event and no one knew what to expect because we had never been to one before. It was supposed to be on the football field and we would walk around the track to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Since it had been raining all day, they moved the event inside. As we walked the halls of the school, we would look on the floors against the lockers where there were thousands of Luminary bags that honored people who have passed of cancer or are currently struggling with it. It brought tears to my eyes seeing how many bags there were surrounding us every step we took. Soon it was time for the ceremony where they proved to all of us how much of a tragedy this illness is. They started by giving us all big glow sticks that they told us not to crack until they said so. We sat in our seats and waited for them to start talking. They introduced themselves and then turned off all of the lights. "Crack your glow stick if you have ever heard the words, your daughter or son has cancer". I could hear the sound of glow sticks cracking in the distance. "Crack your glow stick if you have ever heard the words, your mom or dad has cancer". More people cracked their glow sticks. "Crack your glow stick if you have ever heard the words, you have cancer". As I heard the sound of more and more people cracking their glow sticks, I hear people sobbing into the shoulder of the person next to them. I was sitting next to my good friend, Aaron Meyers who had a high grade, cancerous tumor on the right side of his brain. He was sobbing and couldn't crack his glow stick so his girlfriend did it for him. This was one of the saddest moments of my life. I knew most everyone in that room and saw everyone's sadness that day. They said a few more things until over half the crowds glow sticks where glowing the auditorium. Finally they said, "if you have not cracked your glow stick then you are very very blessed and you need to remember that, so crack your glow stick now". They whole auditorium was now filled with neon orange lights across every row. Everyone was very quiet and soon people left to walk the halls. I stayed in the auditorium with a few of my friends and Aaron to comfort him. We all hugged and cried into each others shoulders for about an hour and a half until we found the strength to walk again. I will never forget the sound of the cries and the glow sticks filling the room. Every day since then I knew I needed to do something. As I dozed off in my Geography class, I thought of a great idea to make bracelets and raise money to help people pay for their treatments. Of course it is not the same as the one that I have created today. Details needed to be finalized and I needed to do my research to get where I am now. With the help of friends and family, we have come up with a name and figured out everything that needed to be done to get this foundation started off good. My dreams have finally came true where I now get to help the people that are suffering. If you would like to join me and help make these families dreams come true as well, then all you have to do is contact me and I will tell you how you can help in your community.