Sometimes it takes a very personal event to inspire us to really make a difference. This seems to be the case for Zac Efron, who is taking a serious, yet fun, stand against cancer with his cousin and cancer survivor, Emily Hobson. Zac Gives Back supports i2Y – I’m Too Young for This Cancer Foundation. The nonprofit exists to educate and empower young adult cancer patients so they can access the most effective and age-appropriate resources out there.

Hobson, a huge supporter of i2Y, gave Efron a few wristbands and he started wearing one. A few weeks later Matthew Zachary, cancer survivor and i2Y founder, received a photo of the “High School Musical” star and his cousin “giving cancer the bird.” The catchphrase has since become the motto for Stupid Cancer, a campaign which calls for a TwitPic challenge. How to play? Gather as many Zac Efron fans as possible, make sure they’re all wearing Stupid Cancer wristbands, flip a collective bird, say cheese and submit the evidence. You’ve got until April 1, 2010 to do it, so get going. Prizes will go to the top three organizers.

If only a fraction of Zac fans and Twitter followers partake in this irreverent for a good cause event, some serious dough will be raised – and it’s surely needed. Each year, nearly 70,000 young adults are diagnosed with cancer, and roughly 10,000 die annually. Over the past 30 years, this age group (15-39) has seen the greatest increase of incidence. Not OK!

But Zac Gives Back isn’t Efron’s first philanthropic endeavor. The avid surfer often supports the surf community’s fund raising efforts. Earlier this year he went Down Under to host an Oakley’s Learn to Ride surf lesson, benefiting the OneSight Foundation. And, this past summer, he contributed to PacSun Pipeline To A Cure for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

From where we stand this week, (which is of course behind a raised middle finger) Zac is looking pretty good – inside and out. [Source]