I am beyond thrilled to share with you that I will be a team member in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 2020 Students of the Year campaign, representing Oakton High School, as a part of team Pro Remedium—Latin for “fight for a cure.” This campaign is something that I am truly passionate about and honored to be a part of, as it not only allows me to expand my leadership abilities, but it also allows me to fundraise for an amazing cause: curing blood cancer. This is my first year being a part of the LLS Students of the Year, and I am looking forward to be part of the 2020 campaign! I have been working with different pediatric cancer organizations as being a Dance Hope Cure ambassador as well as being a member of a childhood friend's sister's team called Team Katie for several years, and as you can see, being able to fight for a cure to cancer and fight for those currently battling is something that truly means a lot to me.

            This year, we are fundraising in honor of Vishav Chopra, a current high school student here in Virginia who suffered from Leukemia at the ripe age of four. After three stressful years for him and his family, he was, fortunately, able to complete his treatments in 2012 and can now enjoy his life outside of an enclosed hospital room. Although Vishav’s story is truly inspiring and fortunately one with a happy ending, there are millions of children and adults still waiting for their happy ending, and it is ultimately the support and generosity of people like you and like me that will help them reach it. My goal in doing this campaign is not to simply raise money but to raise awareness and support in my community in hopes that people will feel the same passion and empathy that I do and donate to this amazing and crucial cause. Donations open on January 18, 2020, and this year our team’s goal is to raise $50k in seven weeks. It’s a lofty goal, but I am willing to work hard to reach it with your help. If you share the same concern and compassion that I do for those that are battling blood cancer or have battled blood cancer, please join me in my mission to fight for a cure and consider donating to LLS!

Sincerely,

Alyssa Franco

Welcome To My Fundraising Page!

I am honored to be participating in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2020 Students of the Year (SOY) campaign, a seven-week initiative in which high school students from around the country are nominated to participate in a fundraising competition to benefit LLS’s mission: to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

I am raising funds in honor of those who are currently battling or are in remission from a blood cancer. Each dollar is a vote and the team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Students of the Year. As a team, 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.

We are changing the face of blood cancer! Will you join us?!

Because of campaigns like Students of the Year, LLS has seen tremendous success discovering new and more effective treatments for blood cancer patients and has created a new exciting initiative focusing on treatments for pediatric patients.

• LLS funded 43 of the 49 FDA approved treatments for blood cancer patients since 2017
• Since 2000, more than 40% of the new cancer therapies approved by the FDA started as blood cancer research
• In 2019, LLS established The LLS Children’s Initiative, a comprehensive $50 MILLION multi-year endeavor, to help children with cancer through every facet of LLS’s mission:
  • More than doubling our investment in pediatric cancer research grants
  • Expanding education and support service for children and their families
  • Advocating for and driving policies to accelerate the development of new treatments and break down barriers to care
  • Launching LLS PedAL (Pediatric Acute Leukemia), a groundbreaking global precision medicine clinical trial in acute pediatric leukemia

And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are now used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers. They're even being tested in clinical trials for patients with a range of cancers including lung, brain, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. LLS funded drugs are now being tested for patients with other non-cancerous diseases like Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis.

Please join me in supporting my campaign and LLS by making a donation to my fundraising campaign. Thanks to your support, my efforts, will help fund the therapies and treatments and help save lives today.

LLS's continued advancements over the years, are responsible for the blood cancer survival rate doubling and tripling; in some cases, the survival rate has even quadrupled.

All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. With your donation, you’re not only support LLS research but patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services as well. Together WE CAN FIND A CURE!

Please visit my fundraising webpage(s) often and pass along the link to family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc. who might donate!  I recognize I need lots of support to reach my fundraising goal!

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

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