My name is Hayden Parseghian and I am currently a sophomore at St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio. Several of my friends from around the Toledo area have joined together as a team (LLS Warriors) to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2025 Student Visionaries of the Year Northwest Ohio campaign. From January 31, 2025, to March 22, 2025, students across Northwest Ohio will be competing to see who can raise the most funds and awareness for LLS’s mission to cure blood cancers. 

 I was inspired to join this campaign because my paternal grandmother, Gayle Parseghian, was diagnosed with CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) in 2010 and has been successfully battling this disease through clinical trials and treatments that LLS helped fund and develop. Last month she just finished treatment at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after a recent relapse.  My personal fundraising goal is to raise $8,000 for the cause and I can’t do it alone. 

Our chosen mission pillar focuses on working with the patients and helping them through their diagnosis to make sure they are taken care of along with their families. We chose this pillar because unfortunately many of us know somebody, whether it is a family member or a friend, who has or had some form of blood cancer. Having a connection really motivated me to join this cause and focus on this pillar since we all see the effects this has on families. 

There are several ways to make your tax-deductible contribution by March 22, 2025:

• Make a contribution online starting January 31st by donating on this website.

• Mail your tax-deductible contribution to me at Hayden Parseghian, 1007 Wentworth Avenue, Holland, Ohio, 43528. Please make checks payable to “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society” and print HAYDEN PARSEGHIAN in the memo section. 

Thank you for joining my personal fight against blood cancer. Your dedication and efforts will make a real difference. Every dollar raised supports LLS’s mission to cure blood cancers and improve patients' lives through research, support, and advocacy. 

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