“Wear yellow, Livestrong,” the $15 million phrase.

In May 2004, six time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong created a yellow bracelets engraved with his personal message, Livestrong. The band is a symbol of hope, courage, and perseverance for those living with or affected by cancer.

Freshman Ashlie Parke said “I think it’s for a great cause and he should keep selling them. It was a really smart idea that will benefit a lot of people.”

Nike teamed up with the Lance Armstrong Foundation to sell these one dollar silicon rubber bracelets to raise money for cancer research and to help those who survived and are still fighting cancer, Armstrong said on his October 1 appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

Armstrong, 33, was diagnosed with cancer in 1996 when he was 25. He fought and beat the disease that currently affects about 10 million people.

After his own battle with cancer, he started his own foundation in 1997 to help give people the tools and knowledge they need to beat the disease.

When Armstrong came up with the idea, he was hoping to raise five million dollars. However, when President George Bush has been seen sporting the bracelet, Jay Leno started handing them out to his guests and audience members on his show. Presidential candidate John Kerry wore his during the Democratic National Convention,

The Livestrong bracelets can be bought at bicycle, athletic stores, and sporting good shops as well as Armstrong’s web site.

Also on the Web site, a quote from Armstrong about the bright color that has caught everyone’s attention, “Yellow wakes me up in the morning. Yellow gets me on the bike everyday. Yellow has taught me the true meaning of sacrifice. Yellow makes me suffer. Yellow is the reason I’m here.”

Armstrong said on DeGeneres’ show that the bracelets have raised over $15 million.

The bracelets are still in such high demand that many stores have sold out and the LAF Web site was out of stock.

Although the “Wear Yellow” Web site was out of stock, shipments have come in and the bracelets, which can be bought in packs of 10, 100, or 1,200 and shipped out in about three to four weeks.

Armstrong proves that a small band can make a big difference.