The Gulf English School(GES) showed their support for Cancer Awareness recently by hosting the Think Pink initiative, a special event to raise cash for both charities – a Dress Down Day and a Bake Sale. A total of QR 20000 was raised for the Qatar Cancer Society. It was raised with the objective to increase awareness about cancer and also contribute toward the students’ IB diploma program. The highlight of the event was a seminar conducted by Al Ahli Hospital on breast cancer awareness for female students aged 10 – 13 years.
The GES students started by holding a month-long campaign “Show you care, be aware” that saw them teaming up with fundraisers from the Qatar Cancer Society. More than18 students with support from CAS coordinator and teaching staff took part in a range of fundraising activities including a bake day, a pink/blue-themed dress down day, car wash, and a FIFA tournament for students. During the car wash day, secondary school students offered to wash teachers’ cars. They also enjoyed the photo booth where students made photo frames and props so that they could get a photo taken and printed. Flowers too played an important role during the event, as “Flowers for Friends” saw students paying for flowers to be delivered to their friends. To add to the excitement, a carnival was also organized for kids.
Further, to promote the campaign, the high school students started an Instagram account. It was a great way to communicate with donors and a strong platform to inspire people to contribute for the cause. They even used their creative skills to design brochures and shared it on Instagram. In fact, this combination of hard work, commitment and teamwork resulted in the secondary school students running a successful cancer awareness campaign, which they dedicated to all those who've lost the fight and to those who won't quit the fight.
"We had a limited budget and even limited time. However, this did not stop us from putting in effort to raise awareness, express our care for cancer patients and their families. Also since knowledge is power, we are trying to educate young boys and girls in our school who are oblivious of the types of cancer, the symptoms and possible cures," commented the secondary school students when asked about their objectives for the campaign.
The CAS coordinator at GES Secondary School, confirmed: “As a sign of our support, we would like our staff and students to understand the challenges faced by cancer patients. This year’s Think Pink campaign generated much greater participation from students as well as staff members. At GES, we believe that participation in various campaigns cultivates a commitment to our own local community.”
Later in the week, the students won ‘Most Inspirational’ Campaign as part of the Beauty and Beast Awards run by the Youth Company.
