We, Kaylee Zeitlow and Sydney Achilles, are very excited to announce that we have been nominated to participate as candidates for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Students of the Year Campaign.  The Students of the Year campaign (SOY) is a seven-week fundraising competition to raise money and awareness for LLS. We are writing today to ask for your support of our campaign and LLS’s mission to find cures for blood cancers and to assist patients and their families. We have been given an opportunity to help others and we cannot do it without your support.

Everyone, at some point in their life, will be affected by cancer whether that is blood cancer or not. Over the years we have grown up in McPherson, many of our peers and their families have been affected by cancer. Kaiden Schroeder was just a year below us in school and his cancer journey and community support has had a big impact on us. He was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Memorial Weekend, May 2009, just a few months after his 4th birthday. He went through 8 years of treatment that included several different chemotherapies, 2 bone marrow transplants, many different trial medicines, TCell therapy, radiation, many surgeries, and countless blood and platelet transfusions. Kaiden passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer on December 1st of 2017. This would have been his Junior year of High School. He loved playing baseball and was a huge fan of the K-State football team. In fact, the Wildcats rallied behind Kaiden and he became very close with one of the players, who would visit him at home, in the hospital, and was there for Kaiden’s funeral. Kaiden has touched many people's hearts and is always on the minds of those in the McPherson community.  Kaiden has helped inspire us to do this project and we want to honor him by helping other children find better treatment options, or better yet, a CURE!

Leukemia remains the #1 most diagnosed form of cancer in children and young adults.  While survival rates have increased significantly over the years for many types of leukemia, the treatments remain toxic. 80% of childhood cancer survivors develop a chronic health condition from their treatment. In the past 4 decades, only 4 cancer drugs have been created specifically for children which means they are being treated the same way as adults, often resulting in devastating side effects.  We can do better. LLS has launched a new program called the Children’s Initiative and plans on putting 100 million dollars towards research for more treatments designed specifically for children. The money we are raising will go directly to LLS to help with projects like this one. Together, we can help find more effective treatment options.  Together, we can find a cure for cancer.

Our campaign runs from January 20, 2022, to March 11, 2022, and our goal is to raise $50,000 to help eradicate blood cancer.  Yes, you read that correctly, $50,000 in 7 weeks, which will go directly to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.  LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care. 

We have assembled a team of adults and students, many of whom have been impacted directly or indirectly by Leukemia or other cancers, that will help us with our fundraising efforts.  If we hit our goal our team name, Bullpups Beat Cancer, will be added to a cancer research portfolio. We want to help any way we can to make it possible for more people to beat this disease. Our personal ties, and those of our team members, gives us the motivation to help make a difference on their behalf. Our campaign provides an opportunity to support the critical work of LLS in fighting these diseases and we hope that you will join us!