1. YOU ARE
RESILIENT
EMPATHETIC
CREATIVE POWERFUL
CARING
BRAVE THOUGHTFUL
AMBITIOUS
VULNERABLE DETERMINED
CHANGED
COMPASSIONATE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
CAMPAIGN KIT

2. YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
Each year, the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation hosts an essay contest, asking the
national community of young survivors of catastrophic illness to share their stories. Four
winners are selected out of the hundreds of applicants.
This year’s winners, Emily Ransom, Colette Jaycox, Arianna Elnes and Joseph Tong, will
have their stories shared across the country during the month of October.
The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation is reaching out to YOU, the community of young
people across this country who are doing amazing things, who have powerful stories of
your own to share about your own survival, a friend or family member’s struggle or the
every day challenges you may face and obstacles you overcome.
Our essay winners have shared who they are. Now, we ask you to
TELL US YOUR STORY.

3. AWARD WINNERS
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
“I had cancer; Today, Emily is a healthy eighteen-year-old living life to the
fullest. She is currently a freshman at Boston College. Her major
cancer NEVER had me.” is Elementary Education and she plans on becoming a
kindergarten or first grade teacher. She is honored to be part of
the BC community and has happily transitioned into college life.
Emily Ransom,
First Place Winner Emily was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia at age
eleven. Through her experience with cancer, she learned to
appreciate relationships with others and to embrace
opportunities in life. The Andre Sobel Award gave Emily the
chance to share her story with others. Emily knows the feeling
of lying in a hospital bed, being told you have a terminal illness.
Fear, confusion, sadness, loneliness and even anger take over
your body as the message sinks in. The poem Emily wrote is
meant to inspire others on their journey back to health. Emily
hopes that others will connect with the feelings and emotions
she felt throughout her journey and that they will continue to
fight back. Never give up hope!

4. AWARD WINNERS
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
Colette has almost completed her treatment protocol, but it has been
a long journey for her to get there. Before her diagnosis, she was
actively involved in her school and community as the captain of her
high school debate team, president of her Amnesty International
chapter and events manager for the Phoenix, her school’s arts and
literary magazine, as well as interning for a local mayoral campaign.
After cancer yanked her out of her old life, she continued to stay
involved with all of her old commitments long distance as well as
complete her AP classes through the Stanford Hospital School,
muscling through the queasiness, exhaustion, memory loss and pain
associated with chemotherapy to finish her coursework.
Colette was particularly inspired to write her piece by her struggles
with memory loss during the darker days of her treatment, and how
this affected her and her relationships with the people around her.
She is so grateful for the support of her family and her closest Colette Jaycox
friends, without whom she would have been unable to cope as well Second Place Winner
as she did.
She plans to use the Award funding to help pay her tuition costs at
Columbia University, where she is currently a freshman.

5. AWARD WINNERS
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
Arianna’s battle with cancer has empowered her and given her the courage to
live the life she’s always imagined. After graduating high school in 2009, she
took a year off to simply gain experiences while continuing her recovery. With
a new outlook on life, she spent the summer working at a salmon cannery in
Alaska before traveling around Central and South America as well as Iceland,
seeing the world with a new set of deeply appreciative eyes. Arianna is now
attending Knox College in Illinois, and is currently undecided in terms of a
major, but has an interest in Creative Writing, Linguistics and Anthropology.
Arianna’s advice to somebody else going through a similar battle is to
acknowledge that this process is life altering; it’s a shock. “You will hit times
Arianna Elnes when you are emotional, and you won’t understand. Just know that it’s ok to
Third Place Winner be sad sometimes. Recognize that feeling, but don’t feel a need to try to
explain it.”

6. AWARD WINNERS
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
Joseph attends Richard Montgomery High School in Maryland and
enjoys playing competitive soccer on his school’s Varsity Soccer
team that is ranked #10 in his state. He is a student in the
International Baccalaureate program, and homework is a constant
in his life. Joseph is an avid skier and snowboarder throughout
winter and makes trips to local ski resorts weekly during the peak
of ski season. He has drawn and played piano nearly all of his life
and even tried his hand at oil painting for a couple of years. Many
of his paintings are hanging in his house as decoration. Joseph
likes to believe that he lives by the saying, “I had cancer, but cancer
never had me.” He hopes all cancer survivors will keep that thought
in mind no matter the circumstances.
Joseph Tong
Honorable Mention

7. HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
Share your story with the Andre Sobel
community.
➡ Post your story to our Facebook Wall.
➡ Tweet us your experiences @asriveroflife or use the hashtag #mystory.
➡ Take the Facebook Cause Challenge and raise money for a family in need.
➡ Take the Campus Challenge and organize an event at your school.
➡ Email us your story.

8. TAKE THE CAUSE CHALLENGE
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
➡ Each week, Andre Sobel will be hosting a cause challenge on Facebook to raise
money for one of its families in need. The goal will be $500.
➡ Taking the Cause Challenge is easy. Get your friends, relatives and others in your
community to donate through Andre Sobel’s Facebook cause.
Here is the link: http://bit.ly/cD9hDl
➡ Ways to Get People to Participate:
✓ Send a message to all your friends on Facebook.
✓ Post the link and “Please Donate” as your status message.
✓ Share your story and the stories of Emily, Collette, Arianna and Joseph on
your wall.
There are hundreds of ways to get people involved, through text message,
other applications like Twitter and, of course, Facebook. Get creative!

9. TAKE THE CAMPUS CHALLENGE
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
➡ Take the Campus Challenge by organizing an event on your campus for Andre Sobel.
Event ideas include:
✓ Class Announcements to get your fellow students interested.
✓ Organize a fundraiser on campus. Get a local band or performer to help out.
✓ Tie this into a volunteer organization, like a Greek philanthropy or a campus
club.
✓ Host a fundraising night with a local business, like your favorite hangout.
If you are interested in holding an event or want to find out
how, contact us!
Students from Cal State San Bernardino raised over $10,000
and put on a fundraiser for the Foundation this last June!

10. MOST IMPORTANTLY...
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
How would you describe yourself?
Each award winner described themselves in a series of adjectives, shown on the front
page of this campaign kit. We encourage you to do the same!
We have started a thread on our Facebook page and will be tweeting daily to find out who
YOU are. Participate daily to share your story and your passion with people across the
country.

11. ABOUT ASRL
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
This is OUR story.
The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation was created in the wake of founder Valerie
Sobel’s loss of her teenage son Andre from an inoperable brain tumor. She realized that it
had been a blessing that she was able to care for her son and not worry about finances
and other resources. Upon discovering that many single parents with critically-ill children
are forced to chose between working to provide basic needs and staying with their
terminally ill child, she created the foundation to relieve this financial and emotional
burden.
The Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation provides emergency assistance within 24 hours
to single caregivers of children with catastrophic or life threatening illnesses who are in
financial crises. Now in its tenth year, the foundation pays urgent expenses so that single
parents can stay by the bedsides of their catastrophically ill children. Since 2000, ASRL
has provided $4M in urgent assistance to 9,300 family members in 22 states.

12. CONTACT US
YOU ARE
[TELL US YOUR STORY]
Mail donations to:
P.O. Box 361460, Los Angeles, CA 90036
T: 310-276-7111 F: 310-276-0244
For media inquiries and other information, please contact Christina Gagnier.
T: 909.576.1411 E: gagnier@realpolitech.com
If you live or attend school in the Claremont area
and would like to volunteer, please contact us at:
Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation
201 North Indian Hill Boulevard, Suite 202, Claremont, CA 91711
Phone: 909-626-0244
aswire@andreriveroflife.org
ANDRERIVEROFLIFE.ORG

13. WHAT WILL
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YOUR STORY BE?
Copyright 2010. Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation. All Rights Reserved.