Dennis Blog Post #3

Posted by Menduyarka Dennis in English 1 - Giknis - X on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 5:53 pm

In my Blog Post #1 and Blog Post #2, I gave a tiny overview on Leukemia and what I did to learn more about it. Blog Post #1 was why I decided to do some research on the topic and my ties with it. Blog Post #2 was where I went to develop more information on the topic and explain even more facts to those who are concerned. And now I have reached my third Blog Post, and boy was it depressing.

Originally for my Agent Of Change, I was going to apply to the Ronald McDonald House of Charities to try my best and volunteer at a Family Room at The Children's Hospital to entertain and provide hope to different leukemia and cancer patients. Unfortunately for me, even when they promised a reply from their office in three days via email, I have yet to receive one. With my hope slowly deteriorating, I fled to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's website to submit another application for a one-time volunteering option. This time, the response time was a day at least. I believed that I had found my Agent Of Change yet again! Instead, I was emailed back almost instantly, stating that options was "No Longer Valid for Volunteering Options". I hope scattered, I believed my chances were slim for getting an uplifting grade on this project. I had only one option left, and I needed as much help as I could get. So I emailed my fellow classmates in Orange Stream and asked them to wear an orange specific shirt or accessory to show support for this cause.

And I was surprised by how much cooperation I had received!

Paul-Ann Whyte, Avery Measely, and Chuckie Copeland, all supporting Leukemia by wearing orange

I will definitely give special recognition when the post is drawing to a close. I asked different people in Orange Stream to show how much they cared for Leukemia by wearing orange to support the cause. Some were my closest friends, some people were even those who I have never met. Even some upperclassmen supported me and my Agent of Change.

Of course it's not enough people to end a horrible type of cancer like Leukemia. I mean, wearing shirts won't save anymore. But the reason for shirts is that they're just a STEP in the huge flight of stairs. This is awareness. The next step will be getting more people aware of Leukemia, and the next one will be attacking it head on. Sure that's a big leap, but the flight isn't done with just attacking. There's funding, supporting, and way more research.

Zoë Chernowski and Claire Byrnes, both rocking orange while in Art class.

After explaining to these people the situation my friend was in before being diagnosed, and how it compared to her personality AFTER being diagnosed, my friends were very sympathetic to me, and understood how hard it must have been to go through such an experience. My participants didn't want anything like this to continue in the world, and I am so very grateful for those who participated.

This was a last resort for me, and I feel like if it wasn't, I would've had WAY more participants. After a failed attempts at numerous businesses and charities, I feel as though this was a little second rate. But hey! It worked for me, and I raised a little awareness for those who didn't know much about it. If I knew that I was going to be rejected by multiple charities, I would've went with this obviously. Next time, I should try my best to go for something as simple, yet welcoming as this option for my Agent of Change. For now, I will continue to tell people the story of my beloved friend and hopefully get them on the side of fighting against Leukemia.

Thank you to the following people for your participation:

Paul-Ann Whyte
Chuckie Copeland
Zoë Chernowski
Claire Byrnes
Jamal Hampton
CJ Irwin-Diehl
Jhazzelle Majarucon
Kawthar Hasan
Jessica Guarino

Here's where you can find in my bibliography

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