LLS Glenelg Students of the Year Campaign

By Charlie Glazier

     The Leukemia Lymphoma Society is a non-profit organization thats mission is to help fund the research to cure Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and Myeloma. It’s 2017-2018 Students of the Year Campaign is a way to spread the word of the society, collect donations and get high school students involved through friendly competition. Multiple teams from around the area participate in the Maryland chapter event. Each team competes with one another to raise the most money. Glenelg High School is home to eighteen members of the Gladiators team. The campaigning starts on February 3, 2018 at 12:00am and ends on March 23, 2018 at 7:00pm. March 23rd is the night of the LLS gala, marking the end of the campaigning. The winner is announced this night and the auctioning for the baskets and sponsor items are given away. The team leader is Christine Daniel, who brought this extra curricular from her old school Glenelg Country School. She built the team to continue what she set out to do at GCS. Daniel states that “ I am so excited to be helping such an amazing cause and leading a great team.” Each team member starts out with a minimum goal of $1,000 each. The goal amount that is set for the team is $50,000.

     Brielle Lazarus, a member of the Howard County community, is a pediatric cancer patient that benefits from the LLS campaign.  Lazarus was diagnosed with a very rare form of acute myeloid leukemia in 2013 at the age of six weeks old. It is heartbreaking to imagine a child so little going through these life threatening event, and not to mention the endless nights her parents stayed up worrying it may be her last. Luckily, due to months of observation and continual testing, Lazarus found great improvement in her disease. Her cancer is now not in reminnsion or spreading, but the doctors still keep a close eye on her. After meeting Lazarus, team member Olivia Browne states that “It was heartbreaking to see a young happy girl be affected by such a horrible thing. She and many others are the reasons I want to help.” Browne was inspired from Lazarus’s story and will continue to work hard to raise money. The money raised will directly impact Lazarus and many other pediatric patients. With the support and dedication of her doctors and LLS, her family says there is hope for improved treatments and a cure for Lazarus and all other blood cancer patients. Especially with someone’s recognized help we can ensure the continuing of research towards blood cancer to one day put a stop to it.

     Overall, this is an phenomenal cause and campaign that is run by the drive and initiative of students. Hard work, time, and effort is put into fundraising and campaigning. Every penny counts in the fight against cancer. Everything from attendance to fundraisers to monetary donations can save a life. Money is being collected through the students fundraising pages and sponsored events taking place to support the cause.