Dear Friends and Family

In July of 2020, I was honored to receive a nomination from my former high school counselor to participate in the national Students of the Year campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I was humbled that she believed I had the necessary communication and leadership skills to be successful in a campaign of such importance. “Okay cool, I’m going to raise money for a great cause” was my initial reaction. The idea of raising money was essentially the what I would be doing. I didn't fully appreciate at the time the importance of why I needed to be involved in this campaign.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, I’m now in football practice with new teammates and coaches. At the end of practice, as usual, coach was delivering his motivational speech to the team, which on the surface seemed matter of fact, but in essence was quite profound. He said “All of you should feel blessed that you are able to play this game." Those particular words resonated deeply with me.

At that moment, I came to realize the reason why I needed to be involved in this campaign. I recognize that I am blessed to play the sport that I love. Many people unfortunately diagnosed with Leukemia and Lymphoma cannot. When young kids see prominent sports figures like LeBron James, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady, they can only dream about shooting a basketball or throwing a football, everyday activities that others may take for granted. 

My parents have always instilled in me the importance of helping and giving back to the community because there is no greater feeling. One of my favorite quotes comes from Spider-Man, who said it best, “with great power comes great responsibility”. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has empowered me with a tremendous opportunity to reach others, and now I feel it’s my responsibility to make a real difference in their lives.

I am honoring those who have battled blood cancers and raising money that will go directly to LLS in support of its longstanding mission to find a cure and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Along with my team, I will work to increase awareness about the impact of blood cancers and the cutting edge treatments that are currently being researched, as well as inspire others to join the fight to find a cure.

I have assembled Team LLSteele, to help me raise funds. I am proud to lead my campaign team and work towards our goal to raise 50,000 during the next 7 weeks - from January 17 – March 5, 2021.

Help be part of the cure and help my team compete in the Charlotte Students of the Year campaign. For more information about LLS and Student of the Year, please visit studentsoftheyear.org.