Hi!! We have just over 24 hours until our Finale! With a one-to-one match from Step Up Social, we only need $1,750 more in donations to hit our $30,000 goal! Thanks in advance!! 

As of 3/1: We have raised $22,000, crushing our intial goal! We continue to raise as much as possible until March 16th. Thanks for your support!

Hi there!

Thank you for visiting my page! This year, I decided to take a leap of faith and coordinate a team for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with the hopes of raising $15,000 from January 29th to March 15th. My team, Team Kickin' Kancer, includes Lorena Jimenez, Maria Colas, Piper Tilton, Carlie Ross, Lola Darbyshire, Margaux Newman, Jack Rinehart, Chana Horewitz, Asher Hartz, Noah Broerman, Matthew Silverman, and Amelia Hartje. 

The fight against blood cancer is vital and personal. I have felt the cruel impact of cancer, and I am determined to lessen the impact cancer has on others. This campaign is providing me with that opportunity.

In addition, a family member was recently hospitalized at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Cancer & Blood Diseases Institute. Having a loved one in the hospital is terrifying. I am proud to support LLS knowing they are lowering the number of similar experiences for patients and their families. Although LLS fights cancer worldwide, their impact can be seen locally where they currently fund multiple studies at Cincinnati Children's.

LLS focuses on three pillars: research, patient support, and advocacy. Under these pillars, LLS has many focus areas to help them change lives with better blood cancer treatment, access, and care. One focus area stood out to me: the Dare to Dream Project. 

The Dare to Dream Project focuses on making pediatric cancers not only survivable but also thrivable. Unfortunately, about 80% of childhood cancer survivors suffer long-term health issues from the same treatments that save their lives. The Dare to Dream Project increases pediatric research grants to accelerate new treatments with fewer side effects. I encourage you to look into the extraordinary things this project focuses on, especially the LLS PedAL research study. 

I love, love, LOVE kids making this part of LLS extra meaningful to me. The Dare to Dream Project has a goal of raising $175 million over the next 5 years. I hope to contribute to this goal to the best of my ability. I can't wait to see the advancements in pediatric cancer treatment, especially because I plan to pursue a career in pediatrics as a doctor.  

With your help, we can support an extremely important cause. 

Kerstin Koenig