Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far! I am now half way to my goal and extremely keen to make it! Once again thank you, and please spread the word!!

My name is Charlie Cooper and I am a Junior at the National Cathedral School. This is my first year participating in the Student of the Year program and I am extremely excited! At my school in Australia, I had the opportunity to raise money for the Leukaemia Society and participate in the World's Greatest Shave 2016. Below is a picture of me as a proud, bald potato right after shaving off my hair:

 

Now, I am thrilled to be able to be part of a team and create even more of an impact. The Student of the Year program is 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 honour 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.