01/08/2020: I am excited to officially launch my campaign! I look forward to all of your support and will work hard to raise funds to cure blood cancers! 

01/15/2020: Our campaign will be hosting a Serve for Leukemia event on February 1st from 7pm-10pm at The Club at Harper's Point. This will be a fun night full of fast-paced tennis instruction, appetizers, and a social round-robin. All proceeds will directly benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and tickets are available for purchase in the "Our Store" section of this page. 

02/18/20: Our campaign has less than two weeks left and we are a little past halfway to our goal. I'm counting on everyone to make a big push these last two weeks, and as always thank you all for your support.  

02/21/20 Our team would like to recognize the Ison Family Restaurant Company for their generous $500 donation to this campaign. We look forward to building a powerful and impactful partnership with their 18 McDonalds franchise locations in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas.

Further campaign updates will be available here.  

Emil is a participant of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student of the Year Campaign, a philanthropic leadership program in which high school students fundraise for the LLS in honor of children who are blood cancer survivors. The Student of the Year series is a nomination-based program that fosters professional fundraising skills such as entrepreneurship, marketing, and project management. Central to his campaign strategy, Emil seeks to create powerful and innovative partnerships with local businesses in his community.

Emil Barr is currently a senior at Sycamore High School and involved in a variety of other causes that are also making an impact on his community.   

In July 2019, Emil was appointed to serve as a Teen Ambassador to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. In this position, he strives to highlight the issues and concerns relevant to young people in the state of Ohio. He has engaged the Attorney General’s Office in discussions concerning gun violence, mental health, environmental protection, and the Ohio Opioid Epidemic.

Barr is currently a Communications Strategist for Eyes Open International, a nonprofit group focused on combating human trafficking through survivor-led methods and prevention-education. EOI has spoken throughout the United States as well as in India, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The group has partnered with Harvard University, addressed the United Nations, and currently makes policy recommendations to the United States Government.

Emil is a dedicated student who has taken 10 AP-level classes, consistently placed on his school’s High Honor Roll, and been recognized as a National Merit Commended Scholar. He formerly served on his school’s Superintendents Advisory Council, where he weighed in on an array of district-wide issues and diligently worked to address the concerns of his peers. Next fall, Emil plans to attend university and study Business and International Affairs.

Despite his busy schedule, Emil likes to find time for music and sports. He currently studies piano under the internationally recognized Elena Kholodova and is involved in multiple extracurricular music groups. An avid tennis player, Emil is a summer tennis coach at the Blue Ash Recreation Center and works part-time in Midwest Sport’s tennis showroom. He was also awarded a black belt in Karate in November 2019.

I am honored to participate as a candidate for the 2020 Students of the Year program, 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. Each dollar is a vote. 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.

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.

We really are changing the face of blood cancer!

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.

Please visit our website often and bring friends who would also like to donate!

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

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