Hi! My name is Jack Marriott and I am a junior at St. Albans. I truly cannot express how much gratitude I have for the incredible support I received last year in my fundraising efforts! This year, I hope to surpass the amazing success I had last year because of your support! I am honored to participate for my second year in the 2021 Students of the Year campaign as a candidate of the St. Albans and National Cathedral School team, Close Cares. Students of the Year 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 support my fellow candidates and lead my team members in raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero who is currently battling or is in remission from a blood cancer. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student 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.

This cause is important to me because I want to raise awareness for blood cancers in honor of Meg O'Neill, my doctor and close family friend, who passed away from Leukemia. Another one of my family friends, Stockton, is my age and while his Leukemia is in remission, he continues to suffer with fallout from the treatments that saved his life. He still faces obstacles that could have been avoided with better treatment. 

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. 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. 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. We are truly changing the face of blood cancers!

Please join me in supporting my campaign, LLS and Team Close Cares by making a donation to my fundraising campaign. All donations are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. Please don’t hesitate to ask your companies for matching gifts as well, they make a huge difference in fundraising! Your generous donations will not only support LLS research but patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services as well. Please visit my fundraising webpage often and pass along the link to family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc. who might donate! 

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, I am deeply grateful for your support!

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