Hello, my name is Gustavo Garcia Perez. I am a sophomore Academy of Engineering student at G. W. Carver High School in Birmingham, AL. I am on the track and soccer team at my school, and I also play the clarinet in my school’s band. The reason I chose to join the LLS was because I want to help those in need. Many people do not have the luxury of living a worry-free life without any health problems. I believe everyone deserves a good life, especially children. Leukemia is the #1 most diagnosed form of childhood cancer. I want to help raise money to help find a cure for those with blood cancer. By donating, you will help patients with blood cancer and help us get closer to ending blood cancer.

I am honored to participate as a team member for the 2021 Students of the Year program, a seven-week initiative in which select high school students from around the country participate in a fundraising competition to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am proud to support my candidate and am raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero who is currently battling or is in remission from a blood cancer. Each dollar is a vote. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student of the Year. Our mission is to not only raise the most money but also to bring attention to blood cancers like leukemia, which is the most common form of cancer in children and teens.

Since the early 1960s, five-year survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are helping patients with other cancers and serious diseases. In fact, drugs first approved for blood cancers are now approved to treat patients with stomach cancers, skin cancers, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

We really are changing the face of blood cancer!

All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. They'll not only support LLS-funded research but will help provide critical information and support for patients, and support advocacy for laws to ensure patients can access the care and treatments they need.

Please visit our website often and bring friends who would also like to donate!

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support!

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.