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“Cancer sucks, plain and simple,” says �鶹��ѡ freshman entrepreneurship major Krista Jordan. “I believe somewhere there is a cure for cancer. We may not find it today, this year, or even in my lifetime; but I believe that someday it will be found.”

When a bright young woman has such strong opinions, no one should be surprised to learn that she recently launched a business that supports cancer research through the creation and selling of handmade and crocheted items, such as scarves and bracelets.

Inspired by the loss of her father to cancer, and with the help of Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad, Jordan created Flight 4 The Cure in November 2012 to further cancer research. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds go to patients at the Seidman Cancer Center of University Hospitals in Cleveland.

Blackstone LaunchPad is an innovative program that helps �鶹��ѡstudents, faculty, staff and alumni transform their business ideas into actual businesses.

Jordan explains, “I believe the happiest people don’t have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything. So rather than sitting around and letting it cause other young girls to miss the father-daughter dance, I want to get out there and change that.

“There are so many different ways one can go about providing help to those who need it. For me it is my business, but for others it could be as simple as participating in a Relay for Life, or donating loose change to a hospital in their area, or even collecting the tabs off soda pop cans to share with the Ronald McDonald house.”

“LaunchPad is such a big help, especially not having a partner and being 18,” says Jordan. “My mentor from the program isn’t afraid to tell me what I need to do.”

Along with providing Jordan a mentor, Blackstone LaunchPad also provided her with distribution suggestions.

Jordan hopes to bring in more help in the next few months as the business continues to grow.

“Passion is a big thing for me,” says Jordan. “I want them to be as passionate about finding a cure as I am.”

For more information about Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad, visit www.kent.edu/blackstonelaunchpad.

For more information about Flight 4 The Cure, visit .