Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Owen Singer. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Owen Singer credits breast cancer research for saving his mother’s life, and that’s why he’s doing everything he can to raise funds for it. When Owen was in eighth grade, he was faced with seeing his mother undergo cancer treatment again. By the end of the summer, when he was heading off to high school, he made his vision to fund breast cancer research a reality. He formally established Cancer Kicks, an organization that supports breast cancer research while providing comfort to those in treatment. With a catalog of more than 90 customizable products, including shoes, blankets, and apparel, every cent raised through selling Cancer Kicks’ fun merchandise is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Thus far, he has sold more than 600 items and donated over $10,000 to the BCRF, funding more than 15 full days of cancer research.
When it comes to running the day-to-day of Cancer Kicks, Owen is doing it all. He handles everything from website development and product design to marketing and customer service. This totals about eight to 10 hours per week, which is no simple task on top of his busy high school course load. Despite the challenges, Owen is determined to keep going on the path to funding research. In fact, Owen’s experience running his own business that donates its profits to charity has directly informed his future. Now a senior in high school, Owen is planning on heading off to college next year and studying business. The knowledge he has gained running Cancer Kicks has instilled in him a variety of managerial skills, ranging from creative thinking to problem-solving, that will directly serve him in his career path. Owen’s dedication to volunteerism may have been inspired by his mother’s cancer battle, but it’s also a key part of the future he’s building for himself.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer again when I was in eighth grade. Then she went through a mastectomy and also had to go through chemo. I watched her lean on small things to get through it, whether it was cold caps that helped keep her hair, heated blankets, or dyeing her hair pink and wearing pink Converse sneakers. It was her way of taking control of something out of her control, and that really stuck with me. I wanted to do something to turn it into something to help others and fund breast cancer research. That was how Cancer Kicks got started. I saw what she was using, and I was like, I can put the money towards a good cause instead of what I had already seen in the market, which is mostly people designing stuff to make a profit.
What inspires you to volunteer?
In terms of Cancer Kicks, breast cancer research is what saved my mom’s life. So I mean, that’s kind of my inspiration.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Cancer Kicks.
I’m the founder and the only member, so I do everything. We sell pretty much anything from hoodies and shoes to blankets and accessories. It’s all customizable. I run every part of it. I design the products, manage the website and the store, reach out to companies and organizations for potential partnerships, and handle customer and corporate orders. It’s continued to grow and grow. All the money goes directly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
There’s the feeling of helping others. There’s also the closeness that has brought my mom and me together. It’s also hearing from people who’ve bought something and telling me what it meant to them. For example, someone who bought it for their wife who was going through treatment; she completely loved it and wore the blanket to every single chemo appointment. Every time I get a sale, or every time some sort of profit is made, it’s knowing the money went to a good cause.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I’ve kind of learned how to run a business. Not just having the idea, because I’m sure I’ve had plenty of charitable ideas. But I’ve learned how to build a website, manage the whole supply chain, and everything from shipping stuff directly to consumers to handling when things don’t go right. It’s through this whole experience, not just through Cancer Kicks, that I also learned more about stepping up. While my mom was in treatment, I had to step up on my own, whether it was just arranging my rides to basketball practice via my friends’ parents. That kind of carried over to how I run Cancer Kicks.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
I think everyone’s had something that’s touched them personally. You don’t need to be an adult. I think I was either 14 or 15 when I started this. I didn’t need to be an adult to do anything. I had help with some of the legal side, but you don’t really need to have a ton of resources to make a difference. I started with a product idea, and honestly, I don’t put a ton of money into it, and it’s turned into something that’s donated over $10,000 to breast cancer research. The small steps add up faster than people might think.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Start with something personal. Being personal to you definitely helps with both motivation and the cause. Be prepared to do everything yourself. It depends on your product, but for me, I did all the designing, marketing, outreach, and the legal stuff. I didn’t wait until I had a team. It started with an idea and just expanded from there. One more thing I would say is don’t be afraid to ask people, whether it’s for them to eventually buy a product or a partnership. The worst case is they can say no, and like a lot of people do end up saying yes.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
I would say that you can turn something bad that’s happened in your life around.
You’re able to make a bigger difference than you might think, no matter what your age might be. You can make a difference doing anything, really.
Do you want to make a difference in your community like Owen? Find local volunteer opportunities.