A box on your California tax return could change a child’s life | Opinion

On July 28, 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 703 into law — a bill I helped initiate — which creates a voluntary tax donation fund dedicated to pediatric cancer research. Since January 1, Californians are now able to support this cause by checking a box on their state tax return to contribute a portion of their own refund or donate directly to the fund.

This simple action can provide critical funding for better treatments and brighter futures for children battling cancer.

For me, this checkbox is the fulfillment of a promise: I was 10 when my brother, Ronil, was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, a rare brain cancer so ruthless that doctors spoke in months, not years. This form of cancer has no cure, no effective treatment and almost no research behind it.

Seeing that gap, Ronil made the selfless decision to donate his tumor to research, knowing he would never benefit from it himself. It was his final wish — his way of leaving behind a gift of hope that could help countless children in the future.

I lost my older brother seven years ago, and that wish has driven me to turn grief into action.

Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States, yet it receives only a sliver of overall cancer research funding. In California, there had never been a dedicated state fund to address it.

And this need has only grown more urgent as federal investment has fallen: a Senate HELP Committee report found that the federal government cut $2.7 billion from the National Institutes of Health in just three months, including a 31% drop in cancer research funding.

When the government pulls back its support, the impact is immediate: fewer studies launched, fewer treatments tested and fewer chances for a child to survive.

Meanwhile, an elective taxpayer-funded approach is not theoretical — California already knows this model delivers results. The state’s existing breast cancer and cancer research tax checkoff funds have raised nearly $6 million over six years, proof that Californians will step up when given a direct way to contribute.

The resulting fund — a landmark for California — is administered by the UC Regents, who will oversee grant allocations to eligible research institutions.

Voluntary contributions give Californians a direct way to act. Checking that box is more than symbolic, turning compassion into immediate resources for scientists and families who can’t afford to wait. When Washington pulls back, California must step forward.

Here’s what matters right now: the fund needs $250,000 this tax season to stay on future tax forms.

This year, when you see that box on your state tax return, I urge you to check it and donate, knowing it exists because California turned the losses of countless families to childhood cancer into a statewide commitment. That single check could be the reason another child gets to grow up cancer-free.

Sahil Mehta is a high school senior at Irvington High School in Fremont, and an incoming industrial design student at Carnegie Mellon University. He serves as a legislative ambassador with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.