Thank you so much for your interest in supporting the mission of LLS!  Please note, gifts made on this page after 5:00pm on Thursday, April 7, 2022 will not be counted towards the competition for the 2022 Triangle Students of the Year. To make a gift that will be credited to your candidate’s competition total after 5:00pm on Thursday, April 7th, please visit https://SOYTriangle22.givesmart.com

I have signed up to save lives with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and am working to raise as much as possible over the next 7 weeks. Every dollar raised counts as one vote for my campaign. The candidate(s) whose team tallies the most votes earns the prestigious title of Student or Students of the Year. Will you help me earn that title?

So, What are the statistics for Blood Cancers? What has LLS done to help to soon end Blood Cancers? Since 2017, LLS helped advance 85% of FDA-approved treatments for blood cancers. In 2020 alone, there were 14. Those are really great numbers, especially knowing that years ago we were lucky to have one new treatment within a year. What is also great to know is that these blood cancer researches and treatments lead to advances for other cancers and serious diseases. But there is still more to be done… Leukemia is still the #2 leading cause of death in people under 20 and is the most diagnosed form of cancer in children.

You might ask yourself, "Why has Keelin decided to do the Student of the Year Campaign?" Well, that is a great question. I have decided to do the Student of the Year Campaign because it is important to me to help those less fortunate than I. When a family or an individual feels discouraged when hearing this news of a life-changing event like blood cancer, I want to be here to lift that individual or family back up. I want to stand up to cancer and say that, "You will not defeat us." In a world where we cannot control much, we can control how we affect others and their lives. It has always been important to me to make a positive impact on other lives. This is a way that I can do that for others. This is a way that you can do that for others. 

I have personally had several experiences with family and friends who have had cancer. Some were lucky and came out of having cancer as a stronger person, but others were not so lucky. Though all of them were strong individuals some had different paths that devastated others around them because the path did not include being with their loved ones any longer. So I ask you to think of the people in your life or were in your life that has been affected by cancer. I know I would do anything for another moment with my grandmother who passed away when I was 2 years old. Your donation would give a son, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a brother, a father, an uncle, an aunt that moment that we all long to have had with the loved one that we lost. 
 
As you know, everyone wins when cancer loses. Thanks to your support, my efforts will help fund therapies and treatments that are saving lives. Over the years, support from people like you has been responsible for the blood cancer advancements that have doubled, tripled, and in some cases quadrupled the survival rate for some blood cancers.

Many LLS-supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are also now used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers and are in clinical trials for patients with lung, brain, breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. And LLS-funded drugs like targeted therapies and immunotherapies are now saving thousands of lives every day.
 
We really are getting close to our goal of a world without blood cancers and Your donation will get us even closer!
 
All donations are greatly appreciated and tax-deductible. They'll not only support LLS research, but patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services as well.
 
Please visit my website often and tell friends who would also like to donate because every penny counts!
 
On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support! For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org