21 Oct 2016
For a young person confronting cancer, low self-esteem and social isolation is common. In a powerful new music video, STA Travel highlights the valuable work of youth cancer charities in making sure no young person faces cancer alone.
The six-minute clip showcases the strength of young people facing cancer in their lives, and promotes a new fundraising partnership between STA Travel and Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK, CanTeen Australia and New Zealand and Teen Cancer America.
“There are specific challenges that come with having cancer when you're young,” said STA Travel CEO John Constable. “Normal life is suddenly turned upside down and treatment prevents you from socialising, playing sports and travelling.
“We want to spread the word about Teenage Cancer Trust, and their important work in bringing young people together for treatment in a home-away-from-home environment.”
The song titled 'Forecast' was written and performed by nine-piece hip-hop collective Along Came Shifty, a Brighton band recently featured on the STA Travel Sounds new music platform (www.statravelsounds.com).
“Many of our friends and family have been touched by cancer's unfair hand, and we're grateful to help in the smallest way by providing music for this cause,” drummer Jake Martin said.
The video was brought to life by STA Travel Creative Director Tor White with the help of US filmmaker and cancer survivor Hernan Barangan, who is on his own mission to tell the stories of young people with cancer across the US.
“Being a cancer survivor comes with a weight of its own – a duty to give back,” said Hernan. “I want to disrupt the way we look at cancer to dispel fear and focus on the strength of the young people affected.”
Over the next five years, STA Travel is raising money to support young people with cancer by giving travellers the opportunity to donate £1 with any booking made in the UK. All the proceeds of 'Forecast' downloads from iTunes will also be split between the four charities.
You can download the clip from iTunes and make a donation at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/forecast-single/id1163173483 or watch it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/EefO5IJfkMw
Teenage Cancer Trust relies on donations to fund its important work. Find out more, get involved or make a donation at: www.statravel.co.uk/teenage-cancer-trust.htm
Contacts
STA Travel – Four Communications statravel@fourcommunications.com | 020 3697 4200
Teenage Cancer Trust – stephen.holland@teenagecancertrust.org | 020 7612 703
About STA Travel
STA Travel is the world's largest youth travel company. We've been successfully delaying students from entering full-time employment since 1979, and every year we send more than 2 million passengers on life-changing adventures. Today we have more than 2,500 people in over 200 stores in 12 countries, including Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States. We also work with franchisees, joint ventures and licensed partners in more than 40 countries.
About Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust makes sure the seven young people aged 13 to 24 diagnosed with cancer every day don't face it alone. They help young people and their families deal with the many ways cancer screws up your body, mind and life. The charity works in partnership with the NHS, providing expert staff and specialist units in Principal Treatment Centres for cancer, and bring young people together so they can support each other.
Teenage cancer Trust also give presentations in schools so young people understand more about cancer and go to the doctors earlier. And they help medical professionals and politicians understand why young people with cancer need specific support.
Almost half of young people with cancer are not treated in Teenage Cancer Trust units. Instead they are treated in hospitals where there isn't the same level of expertise, and they might never meet another young person with cancer. This is a scary and lonely experience. This must change. So Teenage Cancer Trust are building a wider Nursing & Support Service within the NHS to help all young people, wherever they receive treatment. To make this happen, they need to raise more than £20 million every year by 2020.
Teenage Cancer Trust relies on donations to fund our vital work. Find out more, get involved or make a donation at www.teenagecancertrust.org. Teenage Cancer Trust is a registered charity: 1062559 (England & Wales), SC039757 (Scotland).
About Along Came Shifty
Combining intricate beats, soulful melodies and thought provoking lyrics, they captivate audiences with their frenetic live sets in the UK and across the globe. In a fusion of soul, funk and hip-hop, Along Came Shifty generate intense and infectious grooves. Coupled with the soulful and often haunting vocals of Daisy Drage and complex rhymes of Awfer and ILLiterate they truly own a unique sound. Having had an incredible 2016 encompassing gigs in Thailand and a string of high profile support slots for the likes of hip-hop legends Pete rock and CL Smooth, The Sugar Hill Gang, Dead Prez and The Pharcyde, Along Came Shifty are an act not to be missed.
http://statravelsounds.com/along-came-shifty/
About Hernan Barangan
One month before his 16th birthday, Hernan was diagnosed with Leukemia. He spent much of his time recovering from chemotherapy watching movies, and after he beat the disease he took on filmmaking to give back. In the past year, he has filmed the stories of almost 100 teens with cancer in the US so that a united voice of young people can be heard. He hopes to launch his documentary 'Cancer Rebellion' at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
