I had the opportunity to reach so many milestones because I was protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. I believe all children should have the same chance as me to have a healthy life. This is why I became a Shot@Life Champion last year.
As a student at the Pacific Ridge School, I wanted to get more of my classmates involved in the campaign. Four words were the starting point for my goals. Learn, advocate, act and donate—the Shot@Life website header.
For “learn,” I planned to educate the public about the importance of immunization. I started by distributing campaign materials to raise awareness about vaccine-preventable diseases. Advocate and act? I ran a letter writing campaign urging our government officials to ensure all children have access to vaccines. 100 letters were sent to our members asking them to support global immunization programs and efforts.
Finally, with help from the Shot@Life Champion Fund, I dove into my “donate” goal. I organized a photo contest fundraiser to help pay for vaccines for children in developing countries. The photo contest was a huge hit—30 students submitted photos! $500 were raised and my funds were matched. This meant $1000 went to Shot@Life. It was really amazing!
The four words that headline shotatlife.org were a great starting point to becoming involved. I had so much fun educating my school about Shot@Life’s issues. Want to get involved? Join the movement and become a Shot@Life Champion like me. As Shot@Life says, “Standing up for childhood is easier than you think.”