This past October I had the privilege of being nominated as a candidate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2024 Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign.  Student Visionaries of the Year is a seven-week leadership development program that runs from January 19th through March 9th to raise money and advocate for LLS.  I am writing today to ask for your support of my campaign and LLS’ mission to find a cure for blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients.  

I have created a team of committed friends and family to partner with me on this journey. Together, we are aiming to crush the national record of $114,000! All the money that is raised goes directly to the largest blood cancer research program in the nation, LLS, to fund cutting-edge 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 which started as blood cancer drugs are now being applied in other forms of cancer! 

Cancer has impacted too many families across America. My aunts; Debbie, Mary, Sarah and my grandma Nancy have battled various types of cancer, 2 of whom lost their battles. I joined the fight to honor them and to celebrate the recent recovery of my Aunt Debbie, who has suffered from Leukemia since 2010. Thanks to research and access to better treatments, survival rates for many blood cancer patients have quadrupled since 1960. My 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. I know that with your help, I can reach my goal and make a direct impact in the fight against blood cancers.   

I thank you in advance for partnering with a campaign so close to my heart, and please remember, every bit counts.  

Help be part of the cure and help my team compete in the 2024 St. Louis Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. For more information, please contact me at faithrodriguez05@icloud.com. For more information about LLS and Student of the Year, please visit https://www.lls.org/student-visionaries-of-the-year.  

I appreciate your contribution to Charging to a Cure!

Faith