Be a Kid with Purpose – PR Students Support the Community

Every year, Chapman University participates in the PRSSA Bateman Competition. This year, Bateman Competition partnered with With Purpose, an organization dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer regarding lack of research and treatments. I was given the amazing opportunity of being on one of two teams this year.

With this campaign, we wanted to bring the student body of Chapman back to the roots of their childhood. Kids going through pediatric cancer don’t have the option of playing outside and doing normal activities like other kids. Our team wanted everyone to relive their glory days with purpose and also mobilize young voices in the fight against pediatric cancer.

Since February 15th, we’ve had a table in Argyros Forum and the Attallah Piazza. My team and I had people take the pledge to stay active and educated about pediatric cancer by having students sign a petition for the STAR Act. On top of the petition, Be a Kid also had people give their handprint with paint — to bring the student body back to their finger painting days. We took everyone’s handprint and hung them on the tree outside Beckman Hall. These handprints symbolize a pledge taken by Chapman students to join children in their fight against cancer. To top this all off, we gave out kid-themed snacks for every student taking a pledge. Nothing screams childhood more than orange slices and juice boxes!

Thanks to the support of Chapman’s student body, our campaign turned out amazing! We would like to thank everyone for being extremely supportive of our campaign. Thanks to Chapman’s Greek Life and a friendly competition of Coin Wars, we were able to raise over $600 excluding any fundraising efforts or outside donations. On top of this amazing feat, there has also been an amazing turn out for every program we’ve hosted.

It’s easy for me to sit through weeks of classes and tell my friends that I’m learning, but the real world of public relations is an entirely different story. Through this campaign, I was able to experience firsthand the difficulties of implementing a public relations campaign. No amount of work, done in a class, could have possibly prepared me for the whirlwind that has been this campaign. Through this experience, I’ve gained an amazing group of friends and more knowledge about public relations than I could have ever asked for.

Chapman’s student body proves to everyone that, collectively, young voices can make a difference. Through this campaign, I realized just how powerful our generation can be. In their hands, is the power to change the world, starting with pediatric cancer.