Dear Family and Friends,

On September 21, 2018, a dear family friend of mine, Omar Sinan, passed away with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia at the age of thirteen. Omar was one of the kindest, purest souls I have ever come across. He radiated with grace with every action he pursued. Omar was so loved in the community, known for his kindness and intelligence. No one had a bad thing to say about him. This made grieving incredibly hard for his family and friends, and we miss him every day. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) funds research to help individuals like Omar through their journey of battling blood cancer. This brings me to the reason of my message.

My friend Nura Sinan is participating in LLS’s Student of the Year campaign in the memory of her brother. I am so honored to be a part of this fundraising team and be a part of funding more advanced treatments and cures for this disease. We have entered a seven-week fundraising competition and every dollar counts. Every dollar spent is your way to honor Omar, and a step closer for finding a cure.

How can you help? It’s simple. Please click this link: https://events.lls.org/gba/bayareasoy20/rmerlin and make a donation to our team’s fundraising. All donations are confidential and tax deductible. For the past 65 years LLS has donated over $1.2 BILLION dollars to innovative cancer research. Lives are being saved, but there is still work to do. No donation is too large or too small.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you very much for your support!

Best regards,

Raneem Merlin

I am honored to participate as a team member for the 2020 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.