AMA Buckeyethon Team
By Sydney Shaffer
No one has ever purposefully wanted cancer.
When my best friend in the world, the person that makes everyone else happy, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I wanted more than anything for it to be taken away from herI wanted it given to me instead because you hate seeing her in so much pain. This happened at the beginning of this spring semester. It hurt me so deeply that I was not sure if I wanted to attend BuckeyeThon this year, an event I alone had raised almost seven hundred dollars for.
BuckeyeThon is the largest student-led philanthropy in Ohio that creates awareness for children struggling with cancer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and fundraises year-round to host an annual 24-hour dance marathon in the Ohio Union here at The Ohio State University. This was my first year participating, so I wanted to join the team for one of the organizations I am most involved in: the American Marketing Association.
I was not sure if I wanted to attend until about 24 hours prior to the start of the event; I was afraid of the constant reminder that this event was held to create awareness for cancer patients at Nationwide Hospital, the place where my best friend, Maya, was being treated at the same time.
However, my decision to attend the event at last minute's notice was better than I ever could have thought it would be. Everyone was there not to reflect on the sadness cancer has brought to millions of families, but to celebrate the joy of surviving and overcoming this life-threatening circumstance, as well as to commemorate the astonishing amount of money everyone there had raised “For the Kids."
I have so much credit to give to my AMA teammates for helping me cherish this joyous occasion as they supported me being there whether they knew it or not.
The dance marathon consisted of dancing all night and day, fun activities including Gaga Ball, dance fitness, inflatable games, cutting select people’s hair to donate for, testimonials from families affected by cancer, and meeting survivors treated at the hospital. The BuckeyeThon Kid for our team, the yellow team, was Avalon, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when she was 17 months old. Although it still affects her today, Avalon is incredibly optimistic about her life and it was truly astonishing to hear her speak about her journey.
AMA is one of the only clubs at Fisher and Ohio State that I feel a huge draw towards. Not only has it made me sure that I want to pursue a career in marketing since my freshman year, it has also given me a family of people I can go to for professional assistance and a social outlet outside the classroom filled with other extraordinary students.
Experiencing BuckeyeThon with them made me feel even closer to everyone because I knew these people motivated me professionally and inspired me to go above and beyond in the fundraising process for BuckeyeThon this year.
I hope that The Ohio State University’s American Marketing Association Chapter shows how business students can make an impact because we, as a team, raised $6,685 to support Nationwide Children’s Hospital patients.
If you're given the opportunity to donate to an organization, even if it may not be relevant to your own life, know that there are people here on campus that may be struggling and fighting like my best friend, and even a few dollars donated can make miracles happen in the long run.
For more information on BuckeyeThon at Ohio State, please visit https://buckeyethon.osu.edu/ and consider donating to AMA’s team.