This is a picture of me with my Uncle Mark and my Grand-aunt Margie. Mark is great and all, but Margie is the focus of this image (hopefully Mark doesn't mind me using his likeness anyway). Margie has been battling multiple cancers, including lymphoma, for years. Though I have only met her a few times, she is a real trooper... in fact, she is currently in remission thanks to the awesome treatment she has received! :) People like Margie are one of the reasons that I am willing to participate in LLS SoY. When you are just a few dollars away from breakthrough, there is no one whose lives go untouched. Not even 90 year old Margie. <3

Who am I, What is This?

Hello! My name is Russell, I am a high school sophomore and I am participating in the 2019 Students of the Year program! It is a seven-week initiative where select high school students from around the country (and each student's "team") participate in a fundraising competition to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (1). Though I am not one of these "select students," I am proud to be a part of one's team (Go Team Breakthrough!). Through your donations, we work to raise critical dollars to help patients globally who are currently battling or are in remission from a blood cancer!

How Does SoY Work?

Remember, in the spirit of communal progress this fundrauser also happens to be a competiton. See, each dollar is a vote. The student's team (Go Team Breakthrough!) that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student(s) of the Year. So, while the "select student" and the staff bear the leadership recognition, all participating team members are given credit, too... Yay me!

Why Should You Care?

Cancer sucks; if there's one thing that is most widely (and rightfully) ingrained in our culture to hate, it is definitely cancer. Two kinds, leukemia and lymphoma, are the particular cancers the LLS is dedicated to treating and eliminating. They are blood cancers; leukemia affects bone marrow and lymphoma affects the lymph system, both are equally terrible. Did you know that lukemia is the most common cancer in children and teens, affecting 1/3 of those who are that age that are diagnosed with cancer? Did you also know that lymphoma is the third most diagnosed cancer in adults that is present in both males and females?

Of course, there is no cancer that can be said to be "more important" than the other to fight against; any cancer that is lessened in any way is human lives saved and human progress preserved. A method used to fight one form of cancer can lead to developments in fighting another! It is likely that you are related to or know someone who has/had cancer (I have known many), it is an epidemic that is as old as multicellular life itself. But together, we can fight this disease! Our mission for SoY is to not only raise the most money but also to bring attention to these blood cancers. On a broader scale, it advances us ever farther in the crusade against cancer.

Where are your Funds Going?

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.

Are You Actually Going to Make a Difference?

YES! 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. These are the kind of things your dollars allow LLS to do, they really are changing the face of blood cancer and it all starts with your initiative.

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

Please visit this website often, and bring friends who would also like to donate. Be the change!

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