Thank you for visiting my page.  You are likely here because of my letter but, just in case, I have put that letter below as well.  My friends and I have joined Student Visionaries of the Year because we have a vision of a world without cancer and this is where we need your help.  Thank you again.  I am proud of me, my friends and all the teams that are taking on this challenge.  Together we can all make an impact........make a difference.

Below is the letter I mailed out:

Dear Friends and Family,

My name is Thalia Wilno.  Some of you will know me in real life today, some of you will know me as a little kid going with my Dad, Christopher Wilno, to Team in Training events and some of you receiving this letter have only heard my Mom and Dad speak of me through friendships and business relationships.  I am reaching out because I am part of the 2025 Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign trying to raise at least $50,000 to help find a cure for cancer.  We only have 7 weeks to raise the money so time is of the essence and, it is very important to me that I reach this goal and make a difference.

I am 16 years old, soon to be 17 on February 7th, and a junior at Fountain Valley High School. Our family story is certainly my story even though I wasn’t born for most of it.  I heard my Dad share this story hundreds of times growing up but this campaign is having that story really sink in. I can feel it, if that makes sense, and perhaps understand it more.  In a short period of time, my Dad watched his Dad, Albert, get diagnosed with cancer and fight for 15 months ultimately losing the battle. In the middle of the 15 months, my older sister, Isabella, passed away at birth.  The trouble with Isabella all started on my parents’ 4^th wedding anniversary which makes that day complicated every year now.  After my Granddad passed away, my Mom was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with my brother Jaden.  She won her fight then and 5 years later when the cancer returned.  I was 1 year old when the cancer came back.  I never got to meet my Granddad Al and I never got to meet my sister Isabella.  I see pictures, included here, and they are difficult to look at.  My Dad always said I was one of the biggest blessings to come out of this story. My Mom and Dad wanted two children so I am really here because Isabella passed away.  Well, I am here and I want to honor that blessing, my Granddad Al and my sister by making the most of my life and I want to make a difference and I need your help so that other families, mine included, don’t have these difficult stories in the future tied to a diagnosis.

This is where I really need your help.  I am sure most of you receiving this letter have helped my Dad a lot in the past and I am asking if you can help one more time by making a donation to my campaign and helping me reach my goal of $50,000 (I secretely hope for $100,000 so together we can help fund a research grant).  I am unbelievably scared of failing here and letting people down.  I was afraid to even sign up for this campaign because of that fear but I have heard my parents say many times that their greatest accomplishments in life came after pushing past fear.

If you can find it in your heart and have any room in your wallet to help me on this journey, I would be so thankful for a donation.  Any amount is appreciated and will help get me closer to my goal and us closer to a cure.  Thank you so much for your time in reading this and please feel free to share my journey with others.  The more people that know what I am working on the more successful we will be.  I will be sharing the journey on Facebook so feel free to find me there as well as my parents. 

This truly is a 7-week program.  All funds must post by March 21, 2025 to count for this campaign so if you plan to help, I beg you to do so sooner than later.  There are several ways to contribute:

• If you want to donate on your phone, you can scan the QR code on the front of this letter and below and it will take you to my fundraising page.
• •Visit my donation page via this link https://events.lls.org/ocie/svoyocie25/twilno
  • In case you are typing this link, a shorter version: https://bit.ly/ThaliaSVOY
• Send a check made payable to ‘LLS’ to the following address:
  • Thalia Wilno 17814 Santa Gertrudes Circle, Fountain Valley, CA  92708

Thank you so much for your time and support!!

Thalia Wilno

Visionaries look to the future—and see infinite possibility.
They challenge the status quo—and make the impossible possible.
They boldly imagine a better world – and lead the charge to create it.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was built on that same vision - of a better world - one without blood cancers.

I am a visionary; I have a vision for a world without cancer, but I need your help.

This year, I’m proud to be a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign, working to raise as much as possible for LLS’s mission.

As a global leader in the fight against blood cancer, LLS:

• Funds cutting-edge research leading to breakthroughs in immunotherapy, genomics and personalized medicine that are improving and saving the lives of patients
• Provides free education and support for blood cancer patients and families, including personalized, one-on-one support, assistance with identifying and enrolling in clinical trials, and more.
• Mobilizes thousands of advocates to drive policy changes that accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and break down barriers to care.

Please consider joining this fight by making a donation. All donations are greatly appreciated and tax-deductible. Please visit my website often and tell friends who would also like to donate!

Thanks to your support, my efforts will help ensure this generation is the last to see cancer.

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you!

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