NEW ORLEANS– A group of LSU students called “Tigers With Purpose” started a movement to raise awareness of With Purpose, a nonprofit organization that advocates for and helps fund pediatric cancer research and treatments.
One in five children diagnosed with cancer will not survive. To bring awareness to this cause they started a painting project asking members of the community to lay their hand prints on a canvas to show support. Each finger on the hand print symbolizes one child.
Tigers With Purpose aims to have members of the Louisiana community pledge to join the fight for all five of these statistical children to survive.
“Our Fight for Five campaign is just the beginning,” Tigers With Purpose member Josie Bonnette said, “Truly, the amazing people at Children’s Hospital fight for five every day of their lives. We are excited to partner with them in order to bring the New Orleans and Baton Rouge communities together and to ensure that the Fight for Five continues beyond our campaign.”
Staff members and patients at the Children’s Hospital Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders joined the Fight for Five movement by adding their handprint to canvases, some of which will be donated to the hospital. In addition, Tigers With Purpose will donate one large banner containing the handprints of LSU students who have pledged to fight for five.
Tigers With Purpose will interview staff members, patients and LSU Medical School students with the hopes of educating the Louisiana community about their daily fight against pediatric cancer.
“It’s a great opportunity to form a closer relationship with students at Louisiana’s flagship educational institution as we all work together to tell our story and the stories of what we do for children every day,” said Dr. Raymond Watts, LSU Medical School New Orleans Head of Department of Pediatrics.
“This is a win-win opportunity for us and Tigers With Purpose,” he said.
