Olivia (20, USA) won the Legacy Award in 2023 for establishing her organisation, Cancer Kids First, having lost two loved ones to the disease. Cancer Kids First quickly became the world's largest youth-led organisation that works towards lessening the challenges faced by paediatric cancer patients.
Olivia (20, USA) won the Legacy Award in 2023 for establishing her organisation, Cancer Kids First, having lost two loved ones to the disease. Cancer Kids First quickly became the world's largest youth-led organisation that works towards lessening the challenges faced by paediatric cancer patients.
Since 2019, they have supported over 15,000 lives through 3 programmes: Arts, Patient Interaction, and Treatment Services – each designed to bring together the talents of young people to support patients' psychosocial development and treatment process.
On joining our 2023 cohort of Legacy Award recipients, Olivia's organisation had grown exponentially but became increasingly stretched as it attempted to serve too many people across several different programmes.
For Olivia and Cancer Kids First, the Legacy Award came at a crucial time, acting as a connecting force: learning from and networking with her peers that opened new doors, sparked new ideas, and ultimately led to the complete re-vamping of the organisation.
CONNECTION AS A PATHWAY TO CONFIDENCE
On receiving the Legacy Award, Olivia capitalised on the opportunity to connect with other Diana Award changemakers from across the globe and with a diversity of experiences, initiatives, and networks. In getting to know peers like Sonny, she learned how to advocate for and pitch her story and organization. In peers like Madison, she learned how to leverage her youth when applying for grants or other funding. Olivia shared that the Legacy Award helped her to align her identity and purpose: finding mentorship and people who believed in her fuelled her ambition.
A TURNING POINT FOR CANCER KIDS FIRST
During her 2-year engagement with the Legacy Award Programme, Olivia harnessed invaluable insights from her peers to really grow as a leader. She shared that she learned from a fellow Legacy Award winner to market CKF as a start-up, streamline programmes and teams, and revamp their branding to match. In 2025, this directly informed a complete redesign of Cancer Kids First’s programmes, operations, and branding. Led by Olivia, the organisation focused in on three core services, enabling them to centre their ‘why’ and, in turn, gain more grant funding and better advocate for their story.
OLIVIA’S MICROGRANT
As part of her Legacy Award experience, Olivia received a grant of £1,500 to catalyse her work with Cancer Kids First, sitting alongside support from our team to manage expenditure, operations, and impact monitoring. The £1,500 grant enabled Cancer Kids First to reach up to 70 children with cancer across the US and Brazil, providing vital treatment support combined with opportunities for social connection. From funding hospital resources, Christmas celebrations, and gifts in Brazil to creating a powerful in-person influencer meeting for patients in the US, the support helped create a sense of normalcy and joy for young people during an otherwise very difficult time.
For Olivia and Cancer Kids First, the Legacy Award microgrant was transformative, providing opportunities to learn and reflect, sharpening their understanding of where funding can make the greatest difference, and reinforcing a commitment to direct support where it can transform lives most.
THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT
In her goal setting sessions with our team, Olivia shared her dream to write a book to equip high school students with the knowledge and tools to start their own social action organisations. This ambition perfectly illustrated Olivia’s work not only to run her nonprofit, but to inspire the next generation of young leaders. In 2026, having leveraged The Diana Award’s reputation and connection with 2019 Legacy Award alumni and mental health campaigner, Ben West, this ambition became a reality, with Berrett-Koehler and Penguin Random House publishing and distributing Olivia’s book, titled YOUth. YOUth features both Olivia’s story and tips for other budding young changemakers alongside the insights of Olivia’s Legacy Award peers Diana Chao, Shomy Chowdhury, and Sonny Khan. From her collaboration with Ben, Olivia also learned how to utilise social media to share her non-profit journey, enabling her to share her story with millions across the globe. This achievement exemplifies Olivia’s ability to leverage The Diana Award’s networks and opportunities to amplify her impact, turning a personal ambition into a platform that equips and mobilises future generations of young changemakers.
SUMMARY
While Olivia noted that the grant funding and media exposure provided by The Diana Award were indispensable for credibility, she said that the connections with other changemakers were the biggest takeaway. The Legacy Award acted as a connecting force for Olivia and for Cancer Kids First, kickstarting their social impact journey by refining their skills, growing their impact, and opening doors to inspire the next generation of young changemakers.
