Breast Cancer Awareness month is in the month of October and highlights survivors and ways for people to spread information about this disease. In high school, students usually raise awareness by participating in pink outs and organizing fundraisers for research to support organizations that donate to patients. At Briar Woods High School, they do the same, but here are 2 unique clubs that operate and participate in BCA awareness. Here is a quick look at what the school has done so far!
BCA club at BWHS is a volunteer club that gives back to organizations. Notable events they did during BCA month is card making and participating in Dig Pink, a BCA event in sports at High Schools. This year, they will be doing another cardmaking event to make cards for patients with the disease. Although BCA month is only October, they still operate throughout the whole year, participating in School Hallway Decorating/ Deck the Halls and even more volunteering events. To join BCA club, their instagram is @bca_bwhs.
“These girls, most of them, just have a passion for helping people. Breast Cancer is a very tough disease and it’s a long haul, and these guys really try to encourage the families and the patients who have Breast Cancer. The biggest thing is that they do what they can for the families and survivors,” said Linda Gross, the BCA Club Sponsor.
HOSA is another club at Briar Woods which participates in BCA month. It stands for Health Occupation Student Association and it is primarily a competition club for students interested in medicine. At BWHS, they put a spin on the club, offering workshops and even volunteering opportunities.
“HOSA has worked to increase awareness around breast cancer by decorating a handful of doors in the 500 hallway themed around breast cancer awareness and the color pink. We decided to do so as a creative and unique way to bring awareness and recognition regarding breast cancer to the student body,” said Arnav Surapaneni, BWHS Hosa President.
For the month of October, HOSA has put out a BCA newsletter covering facts and the importance of getting tested for cancer. HOSA has a special panel of people that volunteer to spend time on raising awareness for a specific topic each month (such as breast cancer for October), it’s called HOSA cares. They have done a volunteer event, where members of the club got to decorate doors in pink to remind the students of BWHS that it is BCA month. To read the newsletter, go to @bwhs_hosa, on Instagram.
“As someone who wants to pursue a medical field I think it’s important to spread awareness about breast cancer because it is something that affects people in their everyday life and therefore it is important to raise awareness, and to understand the point of view of others who have been affected with this disease,” said Adiva Rana, A BWHS Hosa member.
Overall, BCA at Briar Woods is definitely represented to its best potential. The students have come up with creative ways to uplift families and patients struggling with this disease. To keep spreading awareness about Breast Cancer, visit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation or bcrf.org.
