Signs with Fifth Third Bank

– photo by Stephanie M. Maiocco

Signs. We know — they aren’t the sexiest. But sometimes the simplest things can be the most powerful. This past week, Fifth Third Bank ordered 10,000 signs for fans at the Nashville Predators‘ game on Tuesday in order to support and spread awareness of Stand Up 2 Cancer, a movement created to accelerate innovative cancer research.

As most of you know, Fifth Third is the official bank of the Preds and Bridgestone Arena. The bank thought it could utilize these two sponsorships to create more momentum for SU2C. Thus, Fifth Third Bank ordered 10,000 signs printed for each predators’ fan at the Bridgestone Arena.

The sign reads “I stand up for” followed by a blank, white box. The fans were instructed to write a name in the box of someone he or she knew that battled or is currently battling cancer. When fans held up the signs together, the end result was very powerful:

The concept of SU2C signs at sports arenas isn’t new — the signs were utilized at the Tampa Bay Rays baseball game in 2013:

And at San Francisco Giants/Detroit Tigers’ game in 2012:

In fact, in 2008, Major League Baseball became the founding donor of Stand Up To Cancer. SU2C has grown tremendously with support from players, fans and all 30 MLB Clubs. As of September 2014, Major League Baseball had donated more than $40 million to the organization.

Old-fashioned signs are often overlooked because of its commonality. But in some instances, especially with nonprofit causes and movements, commonality is key to gaining and keeping momentum.