03 June 2024 – Driven by the lack of resources available to her after being diagnosed with leukaemia as a teenager, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Young Leader Sofía Arévalo Sierra is launching Entre Causas, harnessing the power of sport to raise money and awareness for causes supporting young people in similar situations.

Having received a crushing leukaemia diagnosis in 2019, Sofía discovered first-hand the surprising lack of support on offer to adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Rather than being defeated, she set about changing things, approaching several organisations, including Be the Match, to discover why this was the case and what they could do to make a difference.

Though her cancer was in remission by the end of 2022, she knew that she couldn’t stop her crucial work while so many others were still suffering. So, after joining the IOC Young Leaders programme in 2023, she founded Entre Causas – an organisation that uses sport, principally gymnastics and cheerleading events, to support patients with pathological conditions, neurological disorders and cancer.

Entre Causas

Despite being given the all-clear towards the end of 2022, Sofía knew she couldn’t stop her work. Indeed, she instead saw her purpose as helping AYAs like her who had been diagnosed with cancer at such a young age. Even more driven than before, she wanted to continue working with multiple associations, including one that helped her through her own journey, Ayúdame a Sonreír Ante el Cáncer (ASAC).

Fortunately, she came across a friend’s shared post about the IOC Young Leaders programme and promptly applied, which is how she launched her project.

The IOC Young Leaders programme has been a huge help. Financially, it helped me in many aspects, including getting my certification for organising sports events. Furthermore, I think the connections with Young Leaders from around the world who are trying to make a better world through sport has also broadened my perspective. It is an honour to have this opportunity – I know it is going to help many people.

Sofía Arévalo, IOC Young Leader

With a pilot event due to launch in July, Sofía will initially focus on helping two organisations – ASAC and Be the Match. Through the event, Entre Causas aims to raise awareness of various conditions and to let people know what to expect if they ever go through a diagnosis as either a patient or a caregiver. The event will also promote the importance of sport and staying active in both maintaining health and aiding recovery from cancer, and will include a cheerleading clinic, together with sports nutrition talks on eating disorders.

Falling off the beam

Sofía has long been involved in sport, taking up dancing and rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, all before the age of 10. Though she found success in gymnastics, reaching national competitions, she started to fall out of love with the sport following a mental block with the beam. Though disillusioned, Sofía was not ready to leave sport completely, but rather moved on to another discipline – cheerleading.

After thriving in her new sport, Sofía was looking ahead to Mexico City, where she planned to attend college to study sports management. But there was a problem – the college didn’t have a cheerleading team. Before even starting her course, Sofía successfully petitioned to start a team and promptly became captain. It was during her time in college, though, that her life was turned upside down.

“I didn’t realise that there were warning signs at the time, but I started to get really tired to the point that I was missing classes. When they told me I had leukaemia, I felt my life pause. I started looking for associations or social media accounts of people who had been through the same thing, but I couldn’t find anything.”

Sofía Arévalo, IOC Young Leader

Confronted with a lack of information and support, Sofía wanted to make sure that no one else would have that problem again. Initially, she started her own blog to explain what was happening to friends and family, and as her writings reached a wider and wider audience, she was able to start a dialogue with many from around Mexico who had also recently been diagnosed, offering and receiving much-needed support. Then, as Blood Cancer Awareness month approached in September, she also started a campaign to promote blood donation in Mexico, where there are many stigmas surrounding the process. Sofía worked with five athlete friends at first, but this quickly grew and she was eventually able to get 120 athletes together to aid their cause.

IOC Young Leaders Programme is contributing to Olympism 365 days a year

Launched in 2016, the IOC Young Leaders Programme empowers young people to leverage the power of sport to make a positive difference in their communities, and therefore contributes to the Olympism365 strategy, aimed at strengthening the role of sport as an important enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals – which it achieves by collaborating with a range of partners from both inside and outside the Olympic Movement.

So far, with the support of the IOC, these inspiring young people have delivered over 140 sport-led projects in communities across the globe, promoting education and livelihoods, equality and inclusion, health, peace building and sustainability, directly benefitting more than 30,000 people. Learn more about the IOC Young Leaders Programme and the Olympism365 strategy.

Worldwide Olympic Partner Panasonic’s continued support

The IOC Young Leaders Programme has been supported by Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner Panasonic since 2017, and this will continue through to 2024. Panasonic, as the programme’s founding partner, is committed to supporting the IOC Young Leaders through different initiatives, for example providing its creative and technological expertise, along with its network of influencers and ambassadors, to inspire the Young Leaders and equip them with the skills and tools they need to enhance their projects.