Hello everyone!

As I mentioned in my Get to Know Grace Post, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is an organization very near and dear to my heart. When I was eight years old, my next-door neighbor and best friend, Sophia McCaul, was diagnosed with leukemia. At the time, it was hard to process what Sophia was going through. I was only eight years old, and couldn't wrap my head around the complexities of cancer. In retrospect, I realize how difficult and scary a time treatment must have been for Sophia, and no matter how many hospital visits, hours listening to One Direction songs together, letters passed back and forth, and well wishes sent, she was still suffering, and her family was too. Sophia is now several years cancer-free, and a majority of thanks is deserved to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. LLS leads in blood cancer research and aid given to patients' families. All I want to be able to give back to the organization that helped the McCauls so much, and I hope you will join me in making that goal happen. 

Treat People with Kindness, 

Grace

(Sophia and I at Johns Hopkins, circa 2012)

Hi everyone! My name is Grace Adkins, and I am a junior at Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, Maryland. I am so excited to be joining SOY this year, as LLS is an organization very near and dear to my heart, (see my Why I Joined SOY post for details!) and I want to make the most of the next 7 weeks in order to create a successful campaign. Some things about me are: I am 17 years old, I live with my mom, dad, little sister, Lily, and our dog, Fenway. I love music, soccer, reading, and my friends, and also enjoy learning and school (more than the average 17-year-old, at least!) I have lived in Maryland my entire life, but when I grow up, I want to travel as much as possible. Some of my dream destinations are Paris, Rome, London, Athens, Capetown, and Madrid. I am very passionate about helping others and working to make the world a better place, which is part of the reason I was so drawn to LLS. I want to major in political science or international relations so I can work for real change and peaceful relations throughout the world. My dream is to one day become the president, as well as attend Harvard University, so I like to aim high! I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about me, and thank you so much for supporting Team Sailors for a Cure! If you want to make a donation, you can do so right on my personal page. If you want to join the team, email me at gadkins07@gmail.com. Also, follow my teammates and I's Instagram account @sailorsforacure for updates, more information, and fundraising events! Thank you!

Treat People With Kindness, 

Grace 

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page, welcome!

I encourage you to join me in supporting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) by making a donation to my fundraising campaign. By donating to LLS, you support the many facets of LLS’s mission work from investing in groundbreaking research, providing education and support to patients, and advocating at the state and federal level for legislation to help those living with cancer. My appreciation for your support cannot be overstated — each and every dollar donated to LLS brings us closer to our goal to end blood cancer and makes an impact for cancer patients and their families.

As a global leader in the fight to end cancer, LLS is committed to doing more for blood cancer patients and families than any organization in the world. LLS’s signature fundraising campaigns drive critical support for its mission, including a nearly $1.3 billion investment in cutting edge cancer research worldwide since it was founded in 1949. Since the 1960s, survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled.

Every facet of LLS’s mission – research, education and support, and policy and advocacy – work in harmony to put blood cancer patients and their families first. LLS has helped millions impacted by cancer throughout its more than 70-year history, even funding breakthrough blood cancer research to advance lifesaving treatments and cures that is now helping patients with other cancers and diseases. That is why at LLS we say that beating cancer is in our blood.

Please visit my website as often as you can and share it with everyone you know who would also like to join us in the fight against cancer. Together, we have the power, the passion and the resolve to achieve a world without blood cancer. All donations are tax-deductible.

On behalf of cancer patients and their families everywhere, I sincerely thank you for your support!

For more information about LLS, please visit lls.org