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Photo by Shaun Menary

My name is Matt Coulter and I’m the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Young and Brave Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping today’s youth beat cancer. We aim to inspire, encourage, inform, as well as to invest directly into treatment and recovery and to fight cancer alongside those that shouldn’t fight alone.

The truth is cancer affects everyone – young and old, but those under the age of 30 are the unexpected ones. That’s who we are built for. Cancer is going to be the fight of any one’s young life.

I started this Foundation in 2009 along with my best friend, Nathaniel Curran. We saw a void that needed to be filled and an opportunity to create something that could inspire others. I think most people want to create something that matters or be a part of something that does. Along with helping all our cancer WARRIORS and their families we wanted to give our circle of friends the platform to give back. Coming to understand that this journey called life isn’t all about me was one of the best moments in life. Nathaniel and I try to be the example of this, we’re far from perfect but if we encourage just one person to do more, mission accomplished.

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Photo by Letticia Bissondut

Talking to a mother or father about the mortality of their dying child is something I’ve done more times than I want to count. There is nothing to say, only that at a drop of a hat I will do anything in my power to help. Most of the time it’s just listening and being present, I’ve always been pretty good at both. Running the day-to-day operations of The Young and Brave Foundation makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world. Sure, there are days I would rather forget but they never outweigh the victories. My goal is to build a foundation that loves people when they need it the most, I strive for this daily.

When I say lucky, I mean it. The first part of my professional career, basically right out of college, up until a year ago I was a commercial broker. Being good at something but hating it is the worst feeling ever. Last year I took a leap of faith, quit my job and dedicated my life to building The Young and Brave Foundation and supporting our families. The first 48 hours after quitting my job were the scariest but I’ve never looked back. No alarm clock, no hating Mondays or working for the weekend. I get to curate a movement of people that I feel honored to know and lead with the focus to leave this place a little better than I found it and be better than I was yesterday.

Since the inception of The Young and Brave Foundation we have donated over $700K directly to the people and families that need it the most. It sounds cheesy but we understand that every penny counts in the fight against cancer so our commitment is 100%. Every single penny our WARRIORS raise go back directly to their fight. It is a simple concept but we activate our families sphere of influence and give them a responsible easy way to give to their loved ones. Cancer doesn’t care who you are, it will change your life in a instant, this is a fact. We deal with cancer on a daily basis, we fight so not one family fights alone, we challenge you to lean in and prove that #LOVEbeatscancer.

We are for our families and for their communities. I always envisioned The Young and Brave Foundation being massive, to me it is the only way to fight this monster called cancer. At the same time, we need to be committed to individual local communities. We truly believe in being the platform and resource for each and every community around the country to support their local families in need. This is our goal and we chase it every single day. My challenge to you is to visit our website, www.theyoungandbrave.com or one of our social media outlets to really find out who we are and what we do. We have no doubt that you will be inspired by the individuals and families that are so brave in their fight against cancer. Community is the most important thing we have to fight this deadly disease, we would be honored to have you share with your friends and family about who we are. The more people that know about The Young and Brave Foundation the more families we can help fight! #LOVEbeatscancer

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FROM THE EDITOR
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