Hi! My name is Ariana Lotfi and I am so excited to be a part of the Student of the Year campaign. I am a junior at the National Cathedral School where I enjoy playing on the varsity soccer team. I am Iranian-American and thus, I use my role as a teen representative at the Iranian-American Community Center to preserve and share my Persian culture and heritage with my community.  I am also involved in Project Turquoise, a non-profit organization that supports the needs of displaced families affected by conflict and provides humanitarian aid to children and families locally and abroad. Outside of school, I love to ski and scuba dive with my family. I live in Mclean and I am the middle child of 2 brothers. My interest in this campaign developed after 2 of my close family members were afflicted with cancer. I have closely seen the impact cancer has on the patients and the families. Thank you for your support in my campaign!

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 step toward curing blood cancer. 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.

Sincerely,

Ariana