We are honored to participate as a team 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 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.

Our Candidates: Safwa Gopang & Preeti Tanwani

Our dedicated team members: Bhavana Pavuluri, Olivia Bohler, Mia Mercer, Warren VanNort, Shamitha Kuppala, Jane Hu, Demos Negash, Arthi Sundar, Sona Shahzad, Sky Carroll, Anjali Solankhi, Adelaide Madden, Jack DuPlessis, Aidan Sheridan-Rabideau, & Spandana Pavuluri

It’s an honor to be a part of such an outstanding group of fellow students, but an even larger honor to be able to work for the patients, survivors and their families.  We are personally fundraising in honor of one of the team member’s cousins, Hadley Mercer, who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) at six months old. Thankfully, she is now four years into remission. Yet, this feat would not have been accomplished if it weren't for the outstanding research and medical innovations brought into existence by generous donors (of bone marrow and money). Hadley is proof that donations save lives, and we hope that we can continue to save more through the money we raise together. 

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.