hello all friends and family!!

If you don't know me, my name is Addison Kerns and I participated in the Student of the Year (SOY) program through The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this past January through March in honor of my good friend, Peyton Gully. Along with my best friend Emma Loftin, and our fantastic team of 13, we raised over $55,000 for Pediatric Leukemia and we could not thank our families, friends, and donors more!! If you were someone who donated to friendsforacure or supported us in any way, thank you thank you thank you. The impact you made not only in our campaign, but the lives of so many blood cancer patients is immensely more than you will ever know.

With that, I am so excited to announce that I have decided to continue working with LLS this year as the co-chair of the SOY leadership committee. Through this position, I will "provide leadership to Students of the Year Committee by charging members with the goal of nominating students, coaching candidates, planning vents, securing sponsors, and fundraising for the Students of the Year campaign." I am so honored that I was asked to oversee this incredible team of leaders, and I am even more excited to be able to continue to fight this fight for so many other people. 

As you may know from my previous emails and blog, my Friends for a Cure campaign was in honor of my friend, Peyton Gully, who was diagnosed in January of 2017 with Mixed Phenotype Leukemia. This type of leukemia is one of the rarest and it was a very scary time for Peyton, her family, and her friends. I am so happy to announce that because of CAR-T therapy, which was funded by LLS, Peyton was officially done with treatment as of June 21st!! When you're 180 days out from your bone marrow transplant at CHOA you get to ring the bell signifying the end of treatment!!! Not only did Peyton ring the bell, but she is also speaking at our 50k Banquet this past summer because of our campaign!!! We are so happy we were able to make a difference and I am even more excited because I get to continue raising money to help more patients like Peyton. 

Through this campaign, I will not only be mentoring new SOY teams and past candidates, but I will be continuing my fundraising as well!! Our leadership committee goal is $40,000, and my personal goal is $5,000. I know that I can reach this goal with your help and I hope that you feel led to donate any amount to my page to make a BIG difference in blood cancer research!! $1 or $500 makes a difference and every dollar counts!! 

Thank you in advance for your support!!

Feel free to email me at addisonkernslls2019@gmail.com for any questions or information!!