When I started prepping for this campaign in November, I never thought the time would fly by as fast as it has. But here we are! 15 days away from our grand finale and making such amazing progress in reaching our goal! I am so incredibly greatful to all of you who have donated or are in the process fo donating! I really appreciate it more that you will ever know! Please keep giving, keep sharing and GET READY FOR THE GRAND FINALE!!! Save the date info is below. If you want to attend the zoom, please email me at ayurczyk18@gmail.com 

I cannot believe the amount of support that I have received in this campaign in the first week alone! I am so beyond excited to see the impact this campaign will have in the lives of everyone who has been impacted by blood cancer. Together we can beat this! Please continue to share the link to my page and spread the word so we can exceed 50K by April 2nd! Thank you so much to all of our donors! Every dollar counts and helps LLS change lives! 

 

Last year I was given the opportunity to be a team member with my friend Mercy in her students of the year campaign. She inspired me to raise money, and really step out of my comfort zone. Last May, she nominated me to be a Student of the Year candidate for 2021 and I adamantly refused for the entire summer. This all changed when Mercy was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma multicellularity type in September of 2020. With her diagnosis, I gained a better understanding of what it meant to have cancer. This was someone to think of when I heard the word cancer. Cancer was no longer an abstract idea or something that was super far reaching, it was attacking one of my best friends and there was nothing I could do about it. When her family had to decide her plan of treatment, they had to decide which medications would be the least harmful for Mercy's life in the long run. This is because many of the treatments used to treat adult lymphoma are the same used for children and this goes for most cancers. I'm doing this campaign for Mercy. She is my inspiration, my reason. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be doing this right now. But I know that every dollar raised in this campaign will go to people just like Mercy who got blindsided by cancer during what is arguably one of our worst years in history. Right now, as I am writing this, Mercy is in the hospital with only one parent. Because of COVID, you can only have one adult with you. And in all reality, Mercy is lucky she gets to have someone with her. Our friend Mona can't even have her husband with her while she undergoes treatments. When you donate to this campaign, every single dollar will go to new treatments and research and even to individual patients who can't afford their treatment or need extra assistance. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is an amazing cause. Thank you for your generous contribution or at least reading this long paragraph. Please keep Mercy and other teens, children, and adults who are suffering from these awful blood cancers.

I am honored to participate as a team member for the 2021 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 support my candidate and am 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 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.