Hi!! I am Joely Barkett and I am fundraising to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am working along side a team of amazing students all hoping to achieve the same goal: to find the cure to cancer. I personally got involved with LLS in honor of three people who are all very important to me. In 2017, a good friend of mine, Cailin Canella, lost her battle to cancer. Losing someone so young to cancer was very upsetting and shocking and I wanted to make a difference so no family would have to face the same heartache as hers did. In 2018, I lost my aunt to her long battle with cancer. She was a very positive light in our family- she stayed positive about her fight with cancer through the years of treatment; and losing her was heartbreaking. Later that year, my six year old cousin, Carson, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma. Watching him go through months of treatment was very difficult; no one should have to go through the pain and troubles that Carson did. As of today, my family is happy to say that Carson has been in remission for nearly a year and got to start first grade with his class last fall. This is my story, but I know that each and every person who reads this has known someone who has had to face the same struggles as each of these amazing people. My goal is to cure cancer by raising as much money as I can within these next seven weeks, and I hope you can help me to cure this dreadful disease. Every dollar counts, and your dollar can be the one that makes the difference that we need! Thank you!!

I am honored to participate in the 2019 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. I am proud to be raising critical dollars in honor of a young patient hero who is currently battling or is in remission from a blood cancer. Each dollar is a vote. The candidate team that raises the most money at the end of the seven weeks is named Student(s) 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.