Posters and signs declaring “I FIGHT” have sparked curiosity among many Butler students since they started appearing all over campus a few weeks ago.
The “I FIGHT” campaign is being put together by the strategic communication for nonprofits class for the Young Survival Coalition.
The campaign is expected to launch at the end of November.
“We are focused on empowering and supporting young women to be their own best health advocates and agreed that BU piloting such a program would be extremely worthwhile,” Julie Burns, Butler alum and current National Affiliate Coordinator for the YSC, said.
The goal of the class is to partner with a nonprofit organization and develop a strategy based on their needs, senior Courtney Wickland said.
The first phase of the campaign, starting the week of Nov. 29, consists of students signing a pledge to fight breast cancer, Wickland said. After signing the pledge, each student receives a customizable button declaring who they fight for.
The second part of the campaign will be an event held Dec. 6 in the Reilly Room. The event will keep with the theme of breast cancer awareness and will include games, activities, music, food and prizes.
Wickland said that one of the goals of the campaign was to spread the message to younger people who may not be aware of how breast cancer is affecting their generation.
“The YSC came to us looking for a way to reach a younger demographic,” Wickland said. “Being part of this demographic, we were confident that we could develop something that would grab Butler students’ attention and send a message that would stick with them.”
Senior Jonathan Spear is confident that the campaign’s strategy will be a large part of its success.
“Our campaign will reach a younger crowd because we take a topic that most people our age glaze over and convey it in a way that is compelling,” he said.
The campaign has also been able to put social media to good use in making students interested in their message.
“You may have seen several students on campus updating their Twitter or Facebook accounts with ‘I FIGHT’ statements to raise awareness of our campaign,” Spear said. Spear said the ambiguous nature of the campaign posters was a strategic move to grab students’ attention.
“I know several students have been frustrated because they still don’t know what ‘I FIGHT’ means, but that’s the point since we are still in the teaser phase of our campaign,” Spear said.
The students have taken away many positive experiences from both the class and the project.
“I think I’ve learned to be more aware of how common breast cancer is as well as the struggle that the women diagnosed go through on a daily basis,” senior Maria Keyler said.
Each member of the team has high hopes for the campaign and expects a high level of interest from the Butler community. The students believe it is a very effective way of promoting the YSC cause.
“I think it will make the YSC truly see how dedicated we were in helping their cause as well as see how many new people they get to support their cause,” Keyler said. Burns said she enjoyed seeing the students put together the project.
“As a BU alumnus, it was wonderful to work with the class on this project,” she said, “and refreshing to see their ideas and input in motion.”
