Dear, Friends, Family, and community, 

I have partnered with the non-profit organization, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in running for their “Students of the Year” campaign. This campaign is a philanthropic leadership development program for high school students, where the title of Student(s) of the Year is awarded to the student(s) that raise the most funds over the course of the 7 weeks. My co-candidate, Ella Farnell, and I set our goal to fundraise $50,000 dollars over those seven weeks. I am hoping that with your support, we can make this goal and even exceed it! The LLS mission is to cure blood cancers while improving the quality of life of patients and their families.

I am a student at Jim Thorpe Area High school, located in north eastern Pennsylvania. Although I live in a small town, I want to make an impact, and what better way to do it than through raising money for cancer research. Our team for this year’s campaign —Team Jim Thorpe—is a legacy team which has been around for six years now, and has won the fundraising challenge multiple times. I have much experience on my team, with two of my team members being the 2019 LLS Student of the Year.  

The goal of this campaign is to raise money and awareness for cancer. I have never been directly affected by cancer, although I do know people who have been. One of my team members and close family friend’s son unfortunately lost his battle to Leukemia. This is a big reason why I chose to become a candidate this year. The fact that I have never been directly affected by cancer leads me to think of a big fear of mine, not supporting a cause until you need to. Anybody and everybody can be affected by cancer, whether it be somebody who works at the grocery store or the CEO of a company, which is why it is important for not only the affected to help, but especially the unaffected as well.

During my consideration to join the LLS family, I did my research and was able to find unbelievable statistics that just made me want to particiapte even more. The first one that anyone would notice when looking through the LLS website is that someone is diagnosed with Leukemia every three minutes. The estimated total of people who contracted Leukemia or Myeloma in 2021 so far is nearing 200,000. There are so many more statistics, but those two catch my eye every time. It is unnerving to read the statistics in the world of cancer, but these numbers only continue to rise, and with the help of those who will give it, we can rid the world of cancer.

There are so many wonderful reasons to be a supporter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and especially with the opportunity of this campaign. You can donate to myself and my campaign on my personal fundraising page right here. If you choose to donate via mail, you can mail your donation to 400 Dew Drop Drive, Jim Thorpe, 18229. Please make any checks payable to “The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society” or “LLS” and write “Max Allaham” in the memo line. Donations will be accepted from January 7^th through to the end of the campaign on February 26^th. Every dollar is appreciated more than you know and I thank you for reading this letter. Should you have any questions about donating or my campaign, I am reachable via email at Max.Allaham@gmail.com, or you call me at 484-629-2665. 

Thank you again for your time and support of our campaign,

Sincerely,

Max Allaham, 2022 Students of the Year Candidate