Hi everyone, my name is Etta Lauchland. I am a senior Communication Studies major with minors in Humanomics and Rhetoric & Composition. Starting in October, I joined the Childhood Cancer Society as a Communication intern. Since then I have been fortunate enough to be promoted to a Communications Associate which allows me to become even more involved in this fantastic company. 

Childhood Cancer Society (CCS) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that works to raise money for families of children with cancer. What makes CCS unique is that the organization doesn’t just pay medical bills. CCS gives the money they raise straight to the families so they can cover whatever they need: groceries, electrical bills, etc.. CCS also works to send families to Disneyland/World on a fully funded vacation for their whole family. 

This company has grown so much since I first joined and I am incredibly honored to be a part of that journey. We recently launched the Beat Cancer Party where we are attempting to raise $20,000 for a young girl named Avery who is fighting a tough battle against Leukemia. I have been deeply engaged in this campaign and am so thrilled it finally launched!

Most of my work consists of reaching out to potential companies and ambassadors to spread the word and maybe even donate to our cause. My biggest accomplishment thus far has been landing a meeting with General Mills from a cold call. We are still in communication with them and may eventually launch a sponsored product deal which would be so amazing. 

I also have been able to communicate with multiple professionals in similar contexts. One of my current favorite contacts is a guy who goes by Joey Wellness. I sat in on several zoom calls with him and was inspired by his motivation to take care of himself. He preaches a balanced yet healthy lifestyle that feels achievable by the average person, not just the personal trainer fitness buff type. We have continued conversations for him to promote our new project and I cannot wait to see where that leads. 

I have learned the importance of confident and informative communication through my time at CCS. Especially after doing cold calls for four months, I learned how important it is to craft a short and easy message that is digestible to even the most uninterested audience. The cases I promote are incredibly touching but it is never easy to get money from people. I have learned the importance of learning about the community. For example, Avery (the young girl pictured above) is from New Orleans which is a city that holds a lot of pride in lifting each other up. I was then able to look up local businesses who are engaged in the community along with local artists and spread our message to them. All of these tactics drastically increase my chances of successfully landing a call or even a client. 

Luckily, I have no plans to leave CCS anytime soon and I cannot wait to see what other valuable marketing and communication tools I learn from them.