Who are we?
We are student and young professional leaders.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, ACS CAN, is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. ACS CAN volunteers work to make sure our leaders take real steps toward finishing the fight against cancer and holds lawmakers accountable for their words and their actions.
The Society of Emerging Leaders is a group of student and young professional leaders who champion California cancer advocacy projects and campaigns and lead strategies to ensure ACS CAN’s mission of saving lives from cancer. Council members serve for a one year term and applications open in June 2023.
This team is led by the California Emerging Leaders Council, who hosts opportunities like include educating voters, engaging in rallies and press events, utilizing personal cancer or caregiver experiences to shape the cancer journey for others, and building relationships to influence policymakers.
Who we mean by “student and young professional leaders”
Anybody who is still on their journey to becoming a professional, namely from the middle school to post-graduate levels. We want to empower students and those starting their careers out to become leaders through advocacy and volunteerism. We also want to utilize this to create a network of volunteers who can support each other throughout their personal and work lives for years to come, all sharing a common passion: fighting cancer.
Our Mission
Use your passion for politics to help enact laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. As the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, ACS CAN holds lawmakers accountable for their words and their actions. As an ACS CAN volunteer you will meet with legislators, plan events, encourage new membership, and help make phone calls.
What we do:
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ADVOCACY
We advocate for official ACS CAN campaigns utilizing strategic tools to pass vital cancer legislation. We also raise awareness on new or underrepresented issues in the cancer space and push for new legislation to be written.
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EMPOWER LEADERS
We empower students and young professionals to be leaders in their communities—holding conferences, leading trainings, and creating pre-professional mentorship programs to help them network with like-minded advocates.
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BUILD COMMUNITIES
We build the ambassador community by leading local grassroots movements, outreaching to new students and campuses, and hosting many social events for students and young professionals to connect in the fight against cancer.
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FUNDRAISING
We help fund the fight against cancer so that we can continue our cancer campaigns, student education, and more! Our team develops grant writing and business skills, all while learning how to make the most out of every dollar raised.