As you may have seen on my page, I have dedicated my campaign efforts in memory of my late uncle, Joe Raska. He was a great man and loved everything about life. His wife and daughter wrote a little note about him. 

     Joe Raska was an amazing husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle.  When he passed from acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 62, he was a teacher of 24 years, farmer, rancher, volunteer fireman, life insurance salesman, deacon in his church, and wearer of many other hats. He rarely missed any events his children, Kelli and Doug, participated in unless one was cheerleading in one town while the other was playing football in another. It was not unusual for the family to be divided up to cover all the bases, and for the only visit of mom and dad all day, would be on the side of our country road. Above all else, he was a fighter. Although his  blood counts were low, he sat at his computer for two days taking an online test to renew his license to sell life insurance. During the days before his passing, while hospitalized at MD Anderson, he had Kelli renew his concealed handgun license in the hospital room.  
     He looked forward to each new day. To sum up his life, one of the most memorable quotes was “Every day is a vacation.”  Another was “Whether I go or whether I stay, I am a winner either way." He knew where he’d spend eternity, but in the end, we all knew he wanted to stay here with his family.We miss him dearly, but we know he is in Heaven with his Heavenly Father. We also know we will see him again.
     His legacy lives on with us, and it is our hope that our journey will encourage people to embrace every day with kindness, gratefulness and zeal for life.

                - Dianne Raska and Kelli Hughs

Thank you to everyone who came out to the basketball game last Tuesday! We had a lot of fun running a half-court shot competition and raising money with a raffle. I even got in the Tony the Titan costume (see Sophie's page and latest post) to take pictures with kids and raise awareness. So far I am about 35% of the way to my goal! I need as much help as I can get to raise money for this worthy cause. 

Titans for a Cure is hosting a fundraiser at Delia’s Mediterranean Grill & Brick Oven Pizza on January 30 from 4-10 p.m. at the Glebe Road location. 15% sales will be donated to the team. More info on that will be posted in a day or so. 

Thanks again to all who have donated so far! I've already learned so much from this campaign and can't wait to see the results. 

Welcome to my page! 

If you can't tell by the photo, I'm super excited to be a team member representing T.C. Williams in the 2019 Students of the Year Campaign! The campaign season started today and we can't wait for some of our upcoming events, like a Leukemia and Lymphoma Research Support Night at the basketball game against our biggest rivals on 1/22, including a day at school where everyone wears red in support of fighters, survivors, and those who lost their battle. We hope to not only raise funds, but to increase awareness among our peers!

Please join me in the fight against 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! Go Team Titans For A Cure!

Just a few more hours until the fundraising period begins!

I'm so excited to begin collecting funds for the campaign! Our team has worked hard in the past few months and we can't wait to rep our Titan pride! I hope that all visitors to our page consider donating to the cause and sharing with everyone they know. Here's some more information on what each donation can do:

$100 - $999
 $100 helps fund the training of Patti Robinson Kaufmann First
Connection Program volunteers, who provide peer support to patients
and their families around the country.
 $200 helps fund the LLS Information Resource Center’s Information
Specialists, who provide the latest information on blood cancers and
support to patients and their families.
 $200 helps fund general lab supplies for one week to help LLS-funded
researchers conduct laboratory work needed to develop blood cancer
treatments.
 $300 helps fund one week of an LLS-sponsored online support group
for patients and caregivers dealing with a blood cancer diagnosis.
 $500 helps defray the costs of treatment-related travel for a patient.

$1,001 - $10,000
 $1,000 helps fund LLS’s Clinical Trial Support Center, in which nurses
provide patients and caregivers with clinical trial search navigation
and support.
 $1,000 helps fund an LLS-funded investigator for one week.
 $2,000 helps to fund patient education and healthcare professional
programs.
 $2,000 funds one week of research conducted by an LLS-funded
scientist in the blood cancer field.  
 $5,000 helps to support a one-day regional blood cancer education
conference.

$10,000+
 $10,000 allows a donor direct funding of one of nine disease-specific
research portfolios.
 $10,000 helps to support a live, web-based disease-focused national
education program for patients and healthcare providers.
 $15,000 helps to fund a video that provides information and support
to patients and caregivers coping with a blood cancer.
 $25,000 helps to support a continuing medical education symposium
for physicians, to enhance their knowledge in the treatment of blood
cancer patients.
 $60,000 funds an LLS-funded research fellow’s training for a year.
 $75,000 supports genomic research to help achieve the goal of
personalized medicine.
 $100,000 helps fund critical research into improving CAR T-cell
immunotherapy.

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.