The Be Loud! Sophie Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, which supports care for young adults with cancer at UNC Hospitals. It was established by the family of Sophie Steiner, who died from cancer at the age of 15. Its major event is an annual concert at Cat's Cradle, a music venue in the neighboring town of Carrboro.
History
Be loud
And move with grace
Explode with light
Have no fear
We were so panicked by Sophie's health; I don't know that we cared that much at that point. You're in the hospital, and they want to entertain you to the extent that they can. And so the people who knock on the door, the creative arts people, the librarian—there's a lot of things like that at Children's Hospital. And all of those, without exception, did not feel to Sophie like they were for her.
Her sisters Annabel and Elsa, and her parents, Lucy and Niklaus Steiner, created Be Loud! to support patients and families in similar conditions.[5] Be Loud!'s mission is "[t]o support adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their families at UNC Hospitals".[6] The foundation is named after a poem written by Sophie on her blog.[2][5]
A Boy Scout troop biked 66 days across the contiguous United States raising money for the organization.[19] The foundation has also participated at local events, such as the Color the Hill run and the Blue Ridge 200-mile relay.[3] A cupcake truck in St. Louis, Missouri, was created and sent all their profits to Be Loud![3]
Young-adult cancer care
The organization created a position at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center for Lauren Lux, a clinical social worker,[5] who works with cancer patients in their early-teens to mid-20s.[15][16][20] For Be Loud!, Lux is the adolescent and young adults (AYA) program director.[20] "Sometimes I describe my job by telling people, 'I'm here to make this suck a little less,'" Lux told The Herald-Sun of Durham.[16]
Lux's main role is coordinating schedules and offering activities for AYA patients at UNC.[16] Be Loud! brings age-appropriate resources and services to patients to let them "be themselves".[16][20] Lux has taken patients rock climbing at Pilot Mountain.[15]
^ abcMcInerney, Will (September 25, 2015). "Sophie's words inspire". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2017.