Cheerleaders’ Cancer Awareness Initiative

SPREADING AWARENESS FOR CANCER ONE T-SHIRT AT A TIME

Cheer Program Expands T-shirt Fundraiser to Shed Light On More Types of Cancer

Aside from being devoted athletes and curators of school spirit, one of the hallmarks of the Cheer Program at EHS is the team's dedication to increasing awareness and fundraising for cancer. For years, under the leadership of Head Cheer Coach Leigh Anne Raymond, the Cheer Program has spread awareness and fundraised for breast and pediatric cancer. This year the Cheer Program decided to incorporate more cancer diagnoses into its well‑known T‑shirt fundraiser initiative.

The motivation to spread awareness for other cancers came from Varsity Cheerleader Elizabeth Cabes '23. After her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2020, Cabes was inspired to start the Cancer Awareness Club on campus and include other pervasive cancers in the T‑shirt fundraiser. For Cabes, spreading awareness is the best method to finding a solution to cancer. “Cancer affects everyone no matter what, and when my mom got diagnosed, I realized it affects more people in our community than we think,” Cabes says. “And since there is no cure, we need to keep fighting and bringing attention to it.”

In addition to the staple gold and pink T‑shirts that honor pediatric and breast cancer that have been around for years, other T‑shirts will recognize ovarian, leukemia, and lymphoma cancers with teal, orange, and light green colors. As the captain, Sophia Neylon ’22 has taken on the role of designing, ordering, and promoting the T‑shirts. “Our job as cheerleaders is not just to be entertaining and encouraging, but also to be community advocates,” Neylon says.

Besides the T‑shirt fundraiser, which the Dads Club underwrites to cover initial costs, the Cheer Program also hosts baked goods sales to help meet their fundraising goals. All the proceeds of the T‑shirts and baked goods fundraiser go to A Shelter for Cancer Families (ASCF), a local nonprofit in the West University area. ASCF offers housing and tangible support to all families seeking cancer care in the Texas Medical Center and those who travel to Houston for treatment.

For both Cabes and Raymond, whose families also have been directly impacted by cancer, it is important to give to a local organization that puts families’ needs first. “We wanted something in our backyard that our students can interact with,” says Raymond.

The Cheer Program volunteers with the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance, which provides emotional, educational, and practical support to families of children with cancer. Every year, the cheerleaders lift spirits and cheer on participants of the Candlelighters Fun Walk. The Fun Walk is designed to bring awareness to childhood cancer and celebrate the lives of cancer warriors, survivors, and angels.

“My whole mission for coaching and being with these girls is to make them good human beings,” Raymond says. “From the beginning, we have always been giving back. That’s the mission of the Cheer Program here.”

—Lauren West

“From the beginning, we have always been giving back. That’s the mission of the Cheer Program.”