Hello, friends and family. Welcome to my fundraising page!

My name is Kaeden Koons-Perdikis, and I am a sophomore at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School who can't wait to make a difference in this world.

This winter I am proud to participate in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's (LLS) 2021 Students of the Year campaign as one of the team leaders for Team CUREsaders. All across the country, groups of students, such as Team CUREsaders, are coming together to raise as much awareness and money as possible for LLS's esteemed mission to find a cure to blood cancer. To date, students in the United States alone have raised an astonishing $74 million through their grit and determination. Team CUREsaders is working to significantly increase that number.

I was inspired to join this incredible campaign because of the brave people I know who have faced cancer and other diseases, including my mom. In 2013 my mom was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which she courageously overcame. I can still vividly remember the scared, panicked feeling that plagued my stomach as she entered surgery, a feeling that so many people--maybe even you--have experienced. My mom's form of cancer was curable with surgery and radiation; tragically this is not always the outcome. Many of my extended family members have battled and even are still battling different forms of cancer and autoimmune diseases; I am fighting to save more lives from being lost.

About every three minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer; in that moment, not only are their lives turned upside down, but also the lives of their loved ones. Although this statistic seems disheartening, I know that, if we all work together, WE CAN FIND A CURE! Since 2017, LLS has catalyzed the advance of 55 of the 65 FDA-approved blood cancer treatments, and they have invested almost $1.3 billion in finding new, unique treatments. Their progress gives me hope that one day, not too far from now, we will find a cure. It will take us all.

From January 23rd through March 13th,  I will be working tirelessly to advocate and to raise money for LLS's mission, and I need your help. Finding a cure is not going to be easy, which is why every single dollar matters, as yours could be the decisive dollar that ends up curing cancer. I am so appreciative of any support that you can give, and I am estatic to see the difference that we can make all together--and the lives that we can save.

Together we can!

Kaeden