Please note, gifts made on this page after 4:00 pm on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 will NOT be counted towards the competition for the 2023 Virginia Student Visionaries of the Year.  To make a gift that WILL be credited to this candidate’s competition total after 4:00 pm on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 please visit the following link and select the candidate you would like to support: https://svoyva23.givesmart.com/

I am honored to be nominated as a candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) 2023 Viginia Student Visionaries of the Year program. This leadership development program includes a seven-week fundraising campaign that runs from February 1st to March 21st, in which students across the country raise funds and awareness for LLS. Today, I ask you for your support of my campaign and LLS's mission to find a cure for blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. 

I am leading a team of fellow students, friends and family across the U.S. who are partnering with me on this journey. Together, we set an ambitious fundraising goal of $50,000! It's a whopper, but we're passionate about making a significant impact in the fight against cancer. The money raised helps LLS, the largest nonprofit dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers, fund cutting-edge research and treatments. Research also benefits non-blood cancers too. More than 40% of new cancer treatment drugs aprroved by the FDA since 2004 started as blood cancer drugs and are now being used to treat other forms of cancer. 

LLS's mission is very close to my heart. In recent years, I have known many friends and family battling with different forms of cancer, including blood cancers. A 13-year old classmate was diagnosed with leukemia, a friend's mom was diagnosed with terminal lymphoma, and that only scratches the surface. I have watched loved ones close to me - my grandfathers, my aunt, and friends young and old - live with the struggles and challenges that come from treatments and doing everyday activities. We lost my grandfather to cancer last year because he wasn't diagnosed and treated in time. That should never happen. I want to create a world where we are all survivors!

I am personally excited and honored to be participating in the Student Visionaries of the Year program. My family has a long history of supporting cancer research and I'm proud to join their legacy in the pursuit of a cure. My campaign will provide support to the critical work of LLS in the hopes that one day, no one will have to grow up without the ones they love. I know that with your help, I can reach my goal and make a direct impact in the fight against blood cancers. 

Thank you in advance for contributing to a campaign so personal to me, and please remember, every bit counts. 

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

Gracie

IN HONOR OF: Hollis Daniels, Susan Anderson, Joe Fariss, Hurst Kelley, Bob Faron, M.W. "Dyke" Peebles, Thomas Carley, Robert Carlon, Caroline Dunn, and so many others.

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