Juniors Kayla Jahangiri and Lauren Walker have brought back the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation Club, benefiting the organization that strives to improve the lives of people affected by childhood cancer.

“I started my club right after my friend passed away from cancer,” Jahangiri said. “I heard about this organization and decided that in her memory, I would start a team to walk together in her honor. It was really successful, so I brought the club to SMCHS my sophomore year.”

When new members join the club, they can expect to attend monthly meetings and participate in an annual walk, the club’s biggest event of the year. The club participates in the walk together with signs and shirts showing their support of the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.

The club has been very successful in the past as all participants involved walk away with a fun, yet meaningful experience.  Jahangiri and Walker expect the 2014-2015 school year to be no exception.

“We want to get more people involved in the club and aware of pediatric cancer,” Walker said.  “We are all teenagers — this could happen to any one of us any day.  Also, if you do sign up for the walk, you get to see kids who are battling pediatric cancer and it is just a really rewarding experience to know that in some way you are helping them and raising awareness.”

Both Jahangiri and Walker agree that this group is more than just a club.

“It is something that’s personal which is why it is so important to me,” Jahangiri said. “It helped me cope with my grief over losing a best friend.  Knowing that I’m doing something in her honor to stop other people from facing the same fate really is helping me with this loss, and that is why the club matters to me.”

Jahangiri said that the club, while not a big time commitment, encourages members to serve a bigger audience than SMCHS.

“It is a great thing,” she said. “Everyone that has been a part of it really enjoys it. You’re really doing something for a great cause.”

To find out more about the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, visit http://www.pcrf-kids.org.