Dear Friends and Family,

I am extremely excited to tell you that I have been nominated for The Leukemia and 

Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. I am a sophomore at Herron High 

School in Indianapolis, IN. My goal is to raise 20,000 dollars in a seven-week period, focusing my

campaign on Patient Education and Support. You may be reading this while having a connection to

cancer within your family and/or friends or maybe you have no connection at all. Cancer, however, 

affects everyone whether we see it or not. According to LLS someone in the US is diagnosed with

leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma every 3 minutes. My fight is for those who must face this traumatic

disease. With people like you and I, they do not have to do this alone. Working with LLS has given me  

the opportunity to take my love for giving to a higher-level,teaching me how to hold 

sponsorship meetings with large corporations, build leadership skills, and networking. This will 

be an extraordinary experience that will prepare me beyond high school as I strive to do my part in 

having a positive impact in my community and yours. Please, do not think of me and my goals

as you give but rather, the 57,750 people that were expected to die from these blood 

cancers in 2021. Sadly enough, in the next couple of minutes after you finish reading this letter, 

someone just like you and I will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. I’d love for you to 

partner with me as I strive to do my part in fighting cancer. Your donations are both needed and

appreciated. Thank you so very much for your partnership. You may give at my fundraising site 

Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Leila Simone Smith