Stephen Sutton, a 19-year-old from Staffordshire, England, raised more than £3 million ($5 million) for a charity called Teenage Cancer Trust. The inspirational story of Stephen’s three-year battle with cancer went beyond the support of his family and friends; it spread across the United Kingdom through the power of social media.
Shortly after being told that his stage 3B colorectal cancer was incurable, he made a Facebook page called “Stephen’s Story.” The original idea behind the page was to share a bucket list of 46 goals that he wanted to complete with the time he had left and a link to his fundraising page on Just Giving. It wasn’t long before his Facebook following grew and his story spread to Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.
When Stephen was rushed to the hospital last month, he posted a status on his Facebook page and this selfie as a final goodbye and thank you to his supporters.
When the image went viral, support began to flood in from celebrities, public figures, and people across the globe. This caused his fundraising total to skyrocket far beyond his original starting goal of £10,000 ($16,800).
The number of platforms a brand or company can use to build its name and relationship with people is astounding. With the world at our fingertips, some believe social media has only negatively impacted our society. I disagree because it was that power of social media that spread Stephen’s Story.
On May 14, 2014 Stephen passed away peacefully in his sleep. However, through #StephensStory and his various social media accounts, his supporters have continued to embody his positivity and passion for life.
The power of social media helped Stephen achieve his goals and allowed the world to help him fundraise for teens battling cancer like him. With the click of a button, thousands have helped Stephen reach his goal. Yes, there are may be negatives to social media, but I believe stories like Stephen’s allows the world to see how impactful social media can be on someone’s life. We have the power to make a difference through a simple app on our phones.
Five months before Stephen passed away, he was able to cross “public speaking in front of a huge crowd of people” off of his public list. In the speech he gave at the annual company meeting for the St. James’s Place Foundation, he explains: “I do not know how long I’ve got left to live, but one of the reasons for that is because I haven’t asked. That’s because I don’t see the point in measuring life in terms of time anymore. I would rather measure it in terms of what I actually achieved. I’d rather measure it in terms of making a difference, which I think is a much more valid and pragmatic measure.”
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