Evolution

There are many different organizations trying to help Young Adults affected by cancer. Each organization has different goals, but they are all fighting for the same purpose, which is, to aid young adults affected by cancer, and improve their quality of life in any way possible. Each is its own separate organization, but as a whole they make up a community, and they compliment each other by offering different services and resources to the Young Adults Survivor population.

There is little room in this community, to start a new entity that provides a service or resource that is has not already been established. When I dived into the organizations I found that to achieve the overarching purpose, each organization tried to help with the number one problem that Young Adults affected by cancer face, isolation. When a young adult hears the three words, “you have cancer,” it is a devastating blow. These individuals are in the prime of their life and are just beginning to build their adult lives. They are beginning to blossom into who they will become. It is a time in a person’s life where they are starting to live life on their own. Then three simple words rip their universe apart, and they find themselves having to be dependent on others in a bigger way.

All the established organizations who are trying to help these young adults, have a very inward focus. They are helping out young adults who have already been affected by cancer. It is a strong community, but it needs an external voice. Ted and Friends started with the purpose of supporting young adults affected by cancer, and was gong to start a social network so these individuals could connect with others they could relate to. But another organization started one, and this is not a place where you try and one up the competition. This is a community that is built on helping one another achieve the ultimate goal of aiding the young adult affected by cancer, and improve their way of life in any way possible.

Instead of trying to be another support group, Ted and Friends will focus on the external message of generating awareness. I still need to work out how we are going to do this, but we want to use the skills that we have acquired at our advertising graduate program to get the word out.