1. Yo uA re era ble
vuln
ious tro ng
C ur S
ambitious
t opefu l
en h
esili
R
2011 el
Sob A S urviv or
An dre d
war
l us y our s tory
A
Tel

2. In tro
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.
Share
in
the
powerful
stories
of
last
year’s
winners,
Emily
Ransom,
Colette
Jaycox,
Arianna
Elnes
and
Joseph
Tong.
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. Em ily
Today,
Emily
is
a
healthy
eighteen-­‐year-­‐old
living
life
to
the
fullest.
She
is
currently
a
freshman
at
Boston
College.
Her
“I had cancer; major
is
Elementary
Education
and
she
plans
on
becoming
a
kindergarten
or
first
grade
teacher.
She
is
honored
to
be
cancer NEVER had me.” 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. C oll ette
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
Colette
Jaycox
treatment,
and
how
this
affected
her
and
her
relationships
with
Second
Place
Winner
the
people
around
her.
She
is
so
grateful
for
the
support
of
her
family
and
her
closest
friends,
without
whom
she
would
have
been
unable
to
cope
as
well
as
she
did.

5. Ar ian na
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
Arianna
Elnes acknowledge
that
this
process
is
life
altering;
it’s
a
shock.
“You
will
hit
Third
Place
Winner times
when
you
are
emotional,
and
you
won’t
understand.
Just
know
that
it’s
ok
to
be
sad
sometimes.
Recognize
that
feeling,
but
don’t
feel
a
need
to
try
to
explain
it.”

6. J os eph
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. Part icip ate
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. Part icip ate
➡ 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!

9. Part icip ate
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.

10. C ont act
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
Stephanie
Margossian.
E:
margossian@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

11. Yo uA re era ble
vuln
ious tro ng
C ur S
ambitious
t opefu l
en h
esili
R
2011 el
Sob A S urviv or
An dre d
war
l us y our s tory
A
Tel