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Gold Awareness Project

The Gold Awareness Project offers numerous creative ways to promote powerful messages and gold icons in September to increase awareness of childhood cancer. Through this project, CAC2 hopes to inspire everyone for action and engagement locally, nationally, and globally.

Gold Awareness Project Guidance

The CAC2 Gold Awareness Project is determined to turn the world gold in September.  The Gold Awareness Project offers CAC2 members and the wider community creative ways to promote gold and September and increase awareness of childhood cancer.  The Gold Awareness Project Committee has brainstormed ideas that can be carried out by organizations and individuals to increase awareness of gold and September as the color and month representing childhood cancer.   We hope these ideas inspire everyone and demonstrate that the possibilities are endless.  If we each do our part in our areas of the country, an increase in national awareness will follow.  If you have ideas to contribute to this page, mail them to boardchair@cac2.org.

Individual Statements
  • Wear gold/yellow hair extensions (great awareness and conversation starter); Ask beauty salons to get involved (possible fundraiser).
  • Wear t-shirts, buttons, clothing, and other accessories (gold and/or contain childhood cancer awareness messages) around town to raise awareness that September is childhood cancer awareness month and that the color is gold.
  • Place a decal on your car; Ask others to do the same; Sell them for a fundraiser.
  • Take gold decorated cookies to your neighbors with a simple note about childhood cancer and asking them to consider passing on the message to others; include personal stories of local children bravely fighting cancer.
  • Change your social media picture to a gold box or something similar that promotes childhood cancer awareness month.
  • Add a gold awareness frame to your social profiles.
  • Use a gold awareness background for virtual meetings.
  • Wear gold shoelaces (or gold shoes) every day in September and/or sell gold shoelaces for a fundraiser.
  • Involve elementary schools and high schools by suggesting some type of gold and September art project that can be displayed in the halls for the month of September- or display virtually during COVID restrictions.
  • Reach out to student groups at colleges (maybe the pre-med and medical student groups) to organize fundraisers/awareness events (run/walks, concerts, etc.) and/or hang up flyers around campus that announce September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and gold as the color- offer creative COVID options.
  • Reach out to college campuses and ask any organized group (i.e. sorority) to wear gold clothing and accessories and post pictures on their individual social media sites.
  • Ask local high schools to help spread awareness by turning a September football game into a gold event. Players could wear something gold, cheerleaders could have gold pom pons, half time could be devoted to local children battling cancer, a speaker could talk about the importance of raising awareness, sell all gold products at the concession stand, etc. – suggest COVID option for virtual pep rally.
  • Partner with the US Quidditch Association (http://www.usquidditch.org). The real-life game from Harry Potter where the objective is to chase the golden snitch – could be a perfect connection to GOLD for childhood cancer. Reach out to Quidditch teams in high schools and colleges.
  • Help your local elementary or high school organize a gold awareness assembly to educate the students about childhood cancer and have the students pledge to raise awareness this September. Encourage everyone to wear gold that day. Offer COVID options.
  • Promote gold and September on your organization’s website and social media sites; add a section to your website that explains the meaning of gold and September and offer ways people can help raise awareness; Place a gold ticker on your website with a childhood cancer facts.
  • Take the handstand challenge. Cancer turns the world upside down just like a handstand does. They both require courage, strength, and perseverance. Help focus attention on the lack of progress in treating childhood cancer by challenging your friends to take the Give a Hand or Do a Handstand Challenge.
  • Support other childhood cancer organizations around the world by “liking” their Facebook pages and following them on Twitter.
  • Add a gold awareness frame to your social profiles.
  • Use a gold awareness background for virtual meetings.
  • Encourage parents via social media to have their kids do artwork for childhood cancer awareness month that incorporates the color gold (or wear gold clothing/accessories). Have the parent take a picture of the artwork (or picture of kids wearing gold) and post it on the CAC2 Facebook page.
  • Change your social media picture to a gold box or something similar that promotes childhood cancer awareness month.
  • Decorate golden crowns, or wear them, or take pictures in them, etc. As a fundraiser, people could pay a fee to decorate a golden crown, and then take their photo wearing it and holding up a quote (on a dry erase board), or holding a photo in memory of a child who had cancer, or in support of a child facing cancer now.
  • How Bling Can You Go?” – A cool and hip approach to raising awareness. Ask people to dress themselves, family members, and pets in gold bling and post pictures on social media. Encourage competition.
  • Post a new childhood cancer fact each day in September on your social media page.
  • Use the hashtags #gold4kidscancer to unite our messages this September. #GoldStrong #CAC2 #ChildhoodCancerAwareness.
  • Use the letters in the word GOLD Gift Of Life Donation to stand for a mission of action, so that people can acknowledge September in a way that would honor and help kids, it could not only raise awareness, but also make a difference. Give your followers examples of what type of “donations” they can make… from their time or resources. Even ”donating” their time to learn more about childhood cancer is a valuable donation! Each and every type of donation is important.
  • Plan as many awareness events as possible on September 13th (pediatric cancer awareness day).
  • Hold a gold bake sale and/or lemonade stand; hand out information on childhood cancer.
  • Propose a challenge to your friends to find 30 people who will join you in finding 30 ways in 30 days to raise awareness of childhood cancer.
  • 30 Healthy Days Challenge (geared towards kids) – Do a healthy thing (exercise, eat veggies, eat gold/yellow healthy foods, etc.) every day in September on behalf of children with cancer.
  • Wear gold shoelaces (or gold shoes) every day in September and/or sell gold shoelaces for a fundraiser. You could also set up a spray painting booth where people bring their old shoes to be spray painted gold.
  • Organize a Gold Awareness community event – gold decorations, gold food, gold clothes, gold face paint, gold prizes, etc. This fun family event will educate and unite the community.
  • Contact various media outlets to suggest they run a story in early September about childhood cancer.
  • Ask businesses to hang gold banner on the side of a visible building or landmark.
  • Organize a public building, capitol building, multiple buildings in a downtown area, bridge, or landmark to light up gold in September.
  • Involve state representatives and ask them to give a speech to raise awareness of childhood cancer. This could be combined with a lighting ceremony (gold lights on a tree, gold lights on a building, gold lights on porch lights/street lights, etc.).
  • Ask a company to sponsor a billboard that announces September as childhood cancer awareness month.
  • Ask local businesses to promote Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by hanging banners in the storefront windows, decorating the store with gold decorations, featuring gold products, etc.
  • Encourage people to put gold light bulbs in porch lights for September.
  • Ask anyone participating in a bikeathon, run, or walk to decorate their bike with gold, wear gold clothes/shoes/accessories, etc.
  • During September, provide families on the pediatric oncology floor with gold goodie bags (containing all gold things, like gold ribbons, gold products, gold toys, gold snacks, and useful information).
  • Contact personnel at your local children’s hospital to ask them to raise awareness in September (decorate the hospital with gold balloons, streamers, banners, let the staff wear gold clothing/accessories, post on social media sites, etc.).
  • Create huge gold ribbon posters for the pediatric oncology units at your local children’s hospital. Encourage children and young adults to write their name on the board as a sign of solidarity.
  • Reach out to the celebrities/public figures that are associated with your organization and ask them to post about gold and September on their social media sites in order to help raise awareness.
  • Contact athletes and major sports organizations to ask if players can wear gold jerseys, shoes, socks, wrist bands, helmet stickers, etc. during games in September.
  • Involve state representatives and ask them to give a speech to raise awareness of childhood cancer. This could be combined with a lighting ceremony (gold lights on a tree, gold lights on a building, gold lights on porch lights/street lights, etc.).
  • Ask contacts at major newspapers to go gold (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post). The front page could have a gold background for at least one day in September, along with an article about childhood cancer.
  • Secure as many Childhood Cancer Awareness Proclamations as possible.

Raising awareness is crucial to increasing research funds and legislative efficacy. Collaborating amplifies our impact.

Discover

Childhood Cancer Fact Library

Gold Awareness Project

Anti-Bullying Campaign

Childhood Cancer Event Calendar

Membership & Volunteer Participation

CAC2 member organizations with an interest in awareness are encouraged to participate in the work of the CAC2 Awareness focus area.

Email boardchair@CAC2.org for more information.

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