Thank you for visiting my fundraising website! My name is Anna Karlshoej and I am proud to be a co-candidate for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student of the Year Campaign. I am honored to be fundraising for this remarkable organization whose mission is to "Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families" (lls.org). The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the largest non-profit organization that is dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers. LLS was founded over 70 years ago by a family for other families and they have persisted to accomplish their mission by funding groundbreaking research that has majorly impacted cancer treatment for those affected by these diseases. By taking part in LLS’s Student of the Year Program, my fellow candidates and I have all taken LLS’s mission upon ourselves to accomplish and we are completely dedicated to not only spreading awareness about blood cancers but are determined to support the generation that will find a cure that will help so many children across the world. 

I believe that when given the chance to make a positive impact on the world, it is absolutely necessary to take it! Our fundraising is going to contribute to the research of not only blood cancer but other forms of cancer as well. Cancer has touched everyone’s life in some way or another and it is up to us to put an end to this devastating reality. By choosing to support me and my team in this mission, you will be joining me and so many other amazing people in the fight against cancer.

Over quarantine, I had done much reflection about the infamous question, “What do I want to be when I grow up,” and finally concluded that I want to be a doctor. After working with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I have even realized that I want to be a pediatric oncologist so that I can dedicate my career to such an important cause that I have learned to deeply care about. 

The suffering of innocent people makes my heart feel heavy as the world around us is quite unforgiving. For example, my uncle’s tragic car accident was a huge devastation to my family. The father of one of my best friends died from colon cancer early last year. A boy in my little sister’s class passed away suddenly at just thirteen years old from an autoimmune disease. One of my father’s closest friends recently died of a massive heart attack while dirt biking with his young daughter. Lastly, hundreds of thousands of children are diagnosed with blood cancer each year and have to spend their childhoods in a hospital room, constantly fighting for their lives. The reason I am telling you this is because life is so precious. Unfortunately, tragic events like these make us realize that our lives should not be taken for granted. Personally, I have realized that it is not right for me to sit and watch all these terrible things happen to people without doing anything to help so when I learned about this fundraising opportunity, I felt this strong feeling of assurance that this was something I was meant to do. 

It is from these tragedies that I have seen the best in people. After my uncle’s devastating car accident, my grandparents created a foundation in honor of him that raises funds for children that attend the same school that he went to. After one of my best friends lost her father, all of her friends and family came to be with her, her brother, and her mother to comfort them, bring them food, and offer any additional help that they needed. After one of my sister’s classmates died unexpectedly of an autoimmune disease, her entire class put his photo in their clear phone cases to show how much they loved and cared for him--my sister had his photo in her phone case for several months after he passed. After one of my dad’s closest friends passed away, my father and the rest of his coworkers set up a gofundme page to help support his family through such a tragic time. Now, I am given the chance to help millions of blood cancer patients through my Fundraising Campaign. I have taken what I learned from these kind people and brought this same mentality of helping, supporting, and caring for those in need. This fundraising campaign gives me the tools to make a real impact on not only the blood cancer community, on everyone who has been affected by cancer. These patients and families are in need and I am determined to anything and everything I can to help them!

Thank you for giving the gift of life,

Anna Karlshoej

2021 Student of the Year Candidate

PS: Make your donation go further and check to see if your company matches donations! https://www.matchinggifts.com/lls/