I am a junior at Gonzaga College High School who with a group of friends is raising Money for LLS. I have not been affected directly but, unfortunately, many people have been affected by this terrible disease in some way. We have responded to this pain and sadness by forming team “Eagles for a Cure”. We will compete in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Student of the Year Campaign carrying on the Gonzaga tradition led by Patrick Sheehy in 2015, Joe Vermillion in 2016, Will Valentine in 2017, JP McGill and Peter Greene in 2018, and Dolan Smith and Luke McGrail will lead our team this year, and, like our predecessors, will carry our name and what it represents with pride. We are Eagles for a Cure! Our goal is to raise funds for and to raise awareness of the Leukemia and Lymphoma and its research towards curing blood cancers and towards providing monetary support for current blood cancer patients. All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. They will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), which will use the funds for its mission: To cure Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and Myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Blood cancer is responsible for more deaths among people under 21 than all other cancers, so we can more easily identify with it personally. However, we also care deeply about putting an end to the other types of cancers. So we are especially excited about LLS funded research because the many of the treatments for blood cancers have been effective in treating other cancers as well. Money raised for LLS benefits efforts to cure other cancers as well! With your help, we can ensure the best care for patients and can help fund the most pioneering research of our time. We hope to help everyone who is affected by cancer to get well soon and to soar like eagles!

I am honored to participate in the 2019 Students of the Year program, a seven-week initiative in which select high school students from around the country participate in a fundraising competition to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am proud to be raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero who is currently battling or is in remission from a blood cancer. Each dollar is a vote. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student(s) of the Year. Our mission is to not only raise the most money but also to bring attention to blood cancers like leukemia, which is the most common form of cancer in children and teens.

Since the early 1960s, five-year survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are helping patients with other cancers and serious diseases. In fact, drugs first approved for blood cancers are now approved to treat patients with stomach cancers, skin cancers, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

We really are changing the face of blood cancer!

All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. They'll not only support LLS-funded research but will help provide critical information and support for patients, and support advocacy for laws to ensure patients can access the care and treatments they need.

Please visit our website often and bring friends who would also like to donate!

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you for your support!

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.