I am honored to participate in the 2019 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. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student(s) of the Year. I am a proud member of our team, Wonder Women. 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.

I was brought into this amazing campaign by some of my close friends Valentina, Olivia, and Molly. Each of them has been personally affected by cancer, as has my family. My mom's cousin, Aileen, was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of nine. She was a great friend, sibling, daughter, and so much else. After fighting through rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant, she lost her fight to cancer at just the age of eleven. She lived for eighteen months post-diagnosis. Our goal, supported by this campaign, is to ensure that no family will ever have to go through what my friends or mine have. 

This is Aileen Melissa Banilower. 5/14/75 - 9/10/86.

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.

Any donation, no matter how small, makes a difference. If you are able to contribute, it would mean everything.

Thank you so much!

Shayna Ellis and the Wonder Women team