Hit 72K For Cancer With The "Dear Jack" Foundation

ANDREW MCMAHON’S DEAR JACK FOUNDATION LAUNCHES THE 72K CHALLENGE

 

Celebrating 10 Years Cancer-Free DJF Founder Andrew McMahon starts initiative to raise $1 for every young adult diagnosed with cancer annually

Cancer has touched almost every one of our lives - Join musician and founder of "Dear Jack" Andrew McMahon in helping to kick cancer's ass!  

 The Dear Jack Foundation (DJF), the non-profit organization that advocates for and supports initiatives that directly benefit adolescents and young adults (AYA) diagnosed with cancer, and founder Andrew McMahon are launching “The 72K Challenge” – a fundraising campaign designated to raise $1 for each young adult that is diagnosed with cancer every year.
 
The 72K Challenge, open until Dec. 31 on DearJackFoundation.com, aims to aid the 72,000 newly-diagnosed AYA patients in the United States ranging from the ages of 15 to 39. While many consider these to be the most formative years of a person’s life, this population suffers a well-documented deficit in research and attention from the cancer community. This shortfall has led to a 30-year stagnation in the improvement of AYA survival rates compared to all other age demographics.
  

McMahon experienced this first hand at 22, when he was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia during the peak of his career as the lead singer of the alternative band Jack’s Mannequin.  This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the stem cell transplant that saved his life and since then he has dedicated himself to helping youths suffering from this illness. Currently, McMahon is using the success of his hit single, “Cecilia in the Satellite,” from his eponymous album Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness to help draw awareness to this massive effort. The song is an ode to his one and a half year old daughter Cecilia, a child he feared he wouldn’t be able to have after his diagnosis. 

 
“Ten years ago this August, I was transplanted with life-saving stem cells. When I first heard the words, ‘You have cancer,’ I never could have imagined what was to follow,” said McMahon. “The trajectory of a life is forever altered by those three loaded words. Unlike many friends I’ve met along the way, I survived to tell my story and use this new life to advocate for those who are hearing those difficult words for the first time.”
 
HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• Donate on DearJackFoundation.com – every dollar counts
• Spread the word with the hashtag, #DearJack72kChallenge 
• Lend your social media presence to DJF on Thunderclap.com –a tool that lets our message be heard when you and your friends say it together. Think of it as an "online flash mob.” We can share the same message at the same time spreading it through Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.  Once we reach 500 people supporting The 72K Challenge our message will launch together! Join the 72K Challenge on Thunderclap here: http://thndr.it/1NrxX3I 
• Look for more information on-site during The Wilderness Politics Tour – Andrew’s North-American fall co-headline tour with New Politics featuring special guests The Griswolds and LOLO

For almost a decade, The Dear Jack Foundation has been tending to the AYA community, successfully raising over $700K for this group. DJF has worked hand in hand with philanthropic organizations to advocate on behalf of this underserved community.  Through the efforts of DJF, the organization has funded college scholarships, signed up over 1,400 individuals to the National Bone Barrow Registry; 23 of which have been potentially life-saving matches, funded one of the first AYA-specific medical fellowships out of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and provided AYA cancer patients and survivors with opportunities to attend adventure camps with their peers, to name a few. This year DJF will launch the first ever program wholly conceived, organized and funded by the organization - a series of one-day seminars targeting AYA cancer patients as they transition from treatment into survivorship.

The Dear Jack Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization. Tax ID 45-2219082. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.