A new club is coming to JCU’s campus as the college wraps up the first semester of the 2025-2026 school year. The JCU American Cancer Society, spearheaded by Kamden Kraft ’27, had its inaugural meeting on Nov. 24. The introductory meeting discussed ways students could get involved and make an impact.
Kraft, who is pursuing a neuroscience pre-med major with a minor in German, is also a member of the hockey team at JCU. He has recently transferred from Malone University and hopes to meet more people through the creation of the JCU American Cancer Society.
When asked about the inspiration for starting this organization, Kraft said, “I have a huge history of cancer in my family… and I don’t see a lot of advocacy around the area.”
According to the American Cancer Society, there were estimated to be roughly 2,001,140 new cases of cancer and 611,720 deaths caused by it in the United States in 2024 alone. Males were reported to be affected more heavily, accounting for 1,029,080 new cases and 322,800 deaths. Females were estimated to have about 972,060 new cases and 288,920 deaths.
Kraft also has his sights set on some big goals for the organization. “Last year, I was part of an event called “Relay for Life”… and I ended up taking over it for this year, so, my plan is to grow it, try and get the community involved [and] make it bigger at John Carroll itself.”
“Relay for Life” was started in May 1985 by Gordon Klatt, Ph.D., who walked/ran around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. He covered over 83.6 miles in Tacoma, WA, and raised $27,000 to help save lives. Now, local communities come together every year to walk or run to honor loved ones who lost their battles to cancer, celebrate survivors and continue to fight back against cancer.
Kraft says the process to get involved is simple. “All you’ve got to do is reach out. We also have a club on Fusion and [an] Instagram account. Just reach[ing] out [in] any way helps. All you’ve got to do is take the next step.”
The JCU American Cancer Society is excited to talk about some upcoming events once students return from winter break. “So next semester, we do have a day set for the “Relay for Life.” It’ll be April 18. We are currently planning it right now, setting up sponsorships, trying to get everyone together. We do have smaller ones that I want to do, but nothing’s in stone yet,” said Kraft.
Interested students can get in touch with the JCU American Cancer Society by either talking directly with Kraft, on Instagram with the handle @jcuamericancancersociety or joining the GroupMe.
