Dear Family & Friends, 

We had the privilege of being nominated as candidates for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2023 Bakersfield Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. Student  Visionaries of the Year is a seven-week leadership development program that runs from February 22nd to April 14th to raise money and advocate for LLS. We are writing today to ask for your support of our campaign and LLS’s mission to find a cure for blood 
cancers and improve the quality of life for patients. 

Our team name is Cross Out Cancer because we believe that we can do anything through God. We have created a team of committed friends and family to partner with us on this journey. Together, we have set a fundraising goal of $50,000! The money raised helps LLS, the largest nonprofit dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers, fund cuttingedge research and treatments. In fact, the treatments that LLS is funding benefit non-blood cancer patients too. More than 40% of new cancer treatment drugs approved by the FDA since 2004 started as blood cancer drugs are now being applied in other forms of cancer. 

We have chosen to participate because we have personally experienced losing loved ones to cancer and we have seen the toll that treatment can take on patients and their families. When I (Jordan) was very young, I lost my preschool friend to cancer. I was only in first grade when I attended the funeral of someone my age and I will never forget how confusing and painful that felt. Then more recently my uncle was diagnosed with Leukemia, and I saw the way my aunt and uncle had to move closer to the hospital and into a smaller house to afford treatment. Our hope is that with the help of LLS, in the future no one will lose their friends and family to this illness, and more people will be able to afford the treatments and care that they need. We have witnessed the incredible work that LLS does, and we want to help contribute. Our campaign will provide support to the critical work of LLS in hopes that one day no one will have to grow up without the ones they love. We know that with your help, we can reach our goal and make a direct impact in the fight against blood cancers. 

We thank you in advance for partnering with a campaign so close to our hearts, and please remember, every bit counts. There are two ways to make your tax-deductible contribution by FRIDAY April 14th, 2023: Donate directly on this page or mail your tax-deductible contribution to 13061 Rosedale Hwy Suite G, #351 Bakersfield CA 93314 Please make checks payable to “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society” and print ELLA SHAW and JORDAN VAN SKIKE in the memo section.

We appreciate your support.

God Bless, 
Ella Shaw and Jordan Van Skike 
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Ella- ellastephanie@gmail.com
Jordan- jordan@vanskike.net