Deflated.
I did have several families step forward, and I was incredibly grateful for them. But I didn't have the 30 participants I had envisioned.
Because I wanted diversity in the campaign, the families who participated were willing to take on multiple posts.
And they did.
They showed up.
But I was still left wondering if this was the right way to approach an awareness campaign.
Maybe I should just do everything myself.
Maybe I should create all the graphics, write all the facts, schedule all the posts, and simply hope people would like, comment, and share.
But based on participation with our other social posts, I wasn't convinced that would work either.
So I decided to try again.
Check out this campaign
here.
Year Two: #ScaleUpTheGray
May brought Brain Cancer Awareness Month and our
#ScaleUpTheGray campaign.
I had another big idea.
This time, I didn't ask only children to participate.
I asked everyone.
Adults. Kids. Families. Friends. Anyone willing to help.
And once again, I had people step forward.
But once again, the number of participants wasn't what I had envisioned.
I was beginning to recognize a pattern.
Maybe the problem wasn't the ideas.
Maybe the problem was that I was expecting a group project to happen simply because I had created the assignment.
And anyone who has ever been in a group project knows…
It doesn't work that way.
Check out this campaign
here.
Back to Inflate Awareness
This year, I wanted to start earlier.
I sent the team email sooner. I asked for participation sooner. I included reminders in our Team Fired Up newsletter.
Several people told me they were willing to help.
I was excited.
But then came the question I have never quite figured out:
How often do you remind people before you become the annoying person who keeps asking?
Because believe me, there is a little desperation that comes with having a vision in your head and watching the calendar get closer while the pieces aren't falling into place.
This year's theme was
#AnywhereAndEverywhere.
The vision was simple:
Kids could pretend they were holding a balloon anywhere.
They could be standing.
Sitting.
Running.
Playing.
Being silly.
They didn't even have to show their face.
I pictured 30 different children in 30 different places, all holding an imaginary balloon and helping us inflate awareness about childhood cancer.
I used my own children.
I asked our Team Fired Up family.
I reached out to high school teams.
I asked family and friends.
And still, I struggled to get the participation I needed.
At one point, I was feeling defeated.
But then I had to stop and remind myself:
This year was already better than last year.
I made it all the way to Day 18 before I had to reuse a face.
That may not sound like a huge victory to someone else.
But to me?
It was progress.
And maybe next year I'll get all 30 participants I hope for.
Maybe I'll even have too much participation.
Honestly, I would love that problem.
Because posting once a day during these important awareness months is wonderful.
But imagine what could happen if we had enough people to post multiple times a day.
Imagine how many more people we could reach.
Want to see how this year turned out? Check it out
here.
My Grand Ideas
I think one of my biggest downfalls is that I have grand ideas.
I see something in my head and immediately think:
Everyone is going to love this.
Everyone is going to want to be part of it.
This is going to be amazing.
And then reality happens.
Not everyone sees the vision the way I do.
Not everyone has the time.
Not everyone knows how they can help.
And that's okay.
I am slowly learning that I don't need everyone.
I just need to find my people.
The people who see the vision.
The people who understand why it matters.
The people who are willing to pick up a piece of the project and say,
"I'll help."
Awareness Was Never Meant to Be a Solo Project
I believe awareness months are supposed to be group projects.
Because if only one person is talking about childhood cancer, brain cancer, or any other important cause, how far can that message really go?
Awareness requires people.
It requires conversations.
It requires someone willing to share a post, tell a story, wear a shirt, donate, volunteer, ask a question, or simply stop and listen.
And that is why I take these awareness campaigns so seriously.
Because I have skin in this game.
My connection to cancer doesn't come from a textbook.
It comes from more than 20 years of working as a nail technician.
Over the years, I have lost clients to cancer.
I've held their hands through treatments.
I've listened to them talk about their own diagnosis and their family members' diagnoses.
I've celebrated with them when they rang the bell.
I've felt the heartbreak when cancer returned.
And I've attended funerals to honor people who had become so much more than clients.
They became friends.
They became chosen family.
These are people who have been part of my life for decades. They have supported me, encouraged me, and pushed me to do more with the life I've been given.
This role with Dragon Master Initiative is, in many ways, an extension of that.
It is one way I can honor them.
And it is because of those relationships that I eventually met Amanda, the president of Dragon Master Initiative. Knowing her story and understanding why this organization exists made me want to help take the group project she started and make it even bigger.
The Bigger Group Project
The group project doesn't stop with awareness.
Research needs to be a group project, too.
Dragon Master Initiative believes in collaboration and data sharing because progress happens when researchers and doctors have the opportunity to work together, share information, and connect the pieces.
One person may have one piece of the puzzle.
Another person may have another.
But when those pieces are shared, we have a better chance of seeing the bigger picture.
That is the vision behind Dragon Master Initiative.
And it is the same reason I believe in these awareness campaigns.
Because every person who participates adds another piece.
So, Here's My Ask
This group project—Inflate Awareness for Childhood Cancer—is about more than balloons.
It is about the children we have lost to cancer.
It is about the children who are still fighting.
It is about the families who would do anything to protect their children.
It is about the doctors who want to deliver good news instead of bad news.
It is about the researchers who keep searching for the missing pieces that could change a child's future.
And it is about all of us who believe that together, we can make a difference.
So this is me asking:
Will you join the group project?
Maybe you don't have time to organize a campaign.
Maybe you don't know anything about cancer research.
Maybe you can't donate.
That's okay.
You can still participate.
Share something.
Talk about childhood cancer.
Follow Dragon Master Initiative on
Facebook,
Instagram,
TikTok,
X, and
LinkedIn.
Comment on a post.
Tell someone why the cause matters to you.
Show up when there is an opportunity.
Or, when the next group project comes around, maybe be the person who raises their hand and says,
"I'll help."
Because I still believe that somewhere out there are my people.
The ones who will see the vision.
The ones who will grab a balloon.
The ones who will share the post.
The ones who will bring their own ideas.
The ones who will help turn one person's grand idea into something much bigger.
And maybe that's the real lesson I should have learned from all those school group projects.
You don't get an amazing final project because one person does everything.
You get it because everyone brings something to the table.
So let's make this group project amazing.
Let's show up.
Let's participate.
Let's collaborate.
Let's share the message.
Let's inflate awareness.
And together, let's work toward the
winning grade—a future where fewer children and families have to hear the words you have cancer.
