Hi! My name is Ninah Foad, I'm a junior at Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati, Ohio and I'm so excited to be returning for the 2022 campaign of Students of the Year (SOY) with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My freshmen year of high school I ran with three of my best friends, Skyler Robinson, Bentley Dalton, and Lila Lauch ending our seven weeks raising over $40,000, a feat that we never could have imagined reaching.

For those of you who do not know what SOY is, it is a 7 week campaign for high school students across the Greater Cincinnati area, competing to raise the most amount of money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. All money that is raised within the seven weeks from each team is donated to blood cancer reasearch and hope for a cure. The team at the end of the seven week period who raises the most money will be named Student of the Year. Many LLS-supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are also now used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers. Take a second and imagine how many people that is. How many lives YOU are helping to save with even one dollar donated. 

Why Am I Running?

I am so excited to be returning for my second year leading my team with the same candidates from 2020, Skyler Robinson, Bentley Dalton, and Lila Lauch. So many of us know or are close to someone who has had, currently has, or passed away from some form of cancer. I am running in honor of my cousin Paul Wilson; Paul was diagnosed in November of 2016, almost halfway through his sophomore year of high school. After enduring five rounds of chemo, basically a treatment that is poison to the body, I am very proud to say that he is now in remission and currently attending the University of Cincinnati. The summer going into my junior year I was on the Junior Board for Students of the Year taking a role helping to guide the other teams as opposed to running my own team. When my friends Skyler and Bentley asked what I thought about running again with a new fundraising goal in mind, our sights were set and we started getting a team together. Within these seven weeks we are hoping to raise a minimum $50,000 for blood cancer research. If we make this milestone not only is that $50,o00 closer to a cure, but we are also able to place a research grant in Paul's name. I've included updated pictures of Paul below: pre-diagnosis, during his treatments, in his freshmen year of college, and now his junior year (ALMOST 5 YEARS INTO HIS REMISSION!!! - For those who do not know, once a patient hits the five year mark, they are considered "cured" and their chances for being diagnosed again are almost the same as anybody else).  

Please take 5 minutes out of your day to simply share this link with the person to next you, your neighbor, or even 10 people at the top of your contact list. Any and all help is greatly appreciated and can make a difference! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this! 
  
We really are getting close to our goal of a world without blood cancers! On behalf of blood cancer paitents everywhere, thank you for your support! For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org

Ninah Foad 

Paul June of 2016 - prior to his diagnosis 

Paul December of 2016 - during his treatments 

September of 2019 - in remission! 

Fall of 2021 - 5 years into remission!