When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, it is incredibly disheartening. The road they will take is one of incredible hardship and sacrifice, just for the chance to fight off their illness and live another day on this planet. There is no one way to support someone with cancer, but Eastern students have found an incredible way to aid patients diagnosed with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma as well as their families.

   The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a non-profit organization aimed to aiding patients diagnosed with blood cancer through research, education, and advocacy. They hold various fundraisers to collect money for these purposes and have invested more than $1.6 billion dollars in blood cancer research since 1949 (https://www.lls.org/who-we-are).  

   The Student Visionaries Program is a seven-week event in which students raise money for LLS. This event might be a competition, with multiple teams gearing up to earn the most money, but every participant is working towards the same goal: to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Eastern has three teams of students raising money for the Student Visionaries Program: Team Silver Linings led by sophomore Jasmine Kaur, Team Cancer Crusaders run by senior Voyager staff reporter Sarah Gillespie, and Team Fight For Light headed by sophomore Voyager staff reporter Maddie Soffian.

   Kaur decided to head team Silver Linings “(to) support a cause that I connect on a personal level with.” She dedicates Team Silver Linings to Brooke Mulford, a classmate at Osage Elementary and Voorhees Middle School, who sadly passed away on June 12th, 2017 after an eight year battle with neuroblastoma. The team is holding various fundraising events for LLS, including an event at McDonalds on March 7th, Passariello’s on March 9th, Wayback Burgers on March 11th, and a yard sale on March 11th at 399 Kresson Road, Voorhees NJ. More information can be found on their Instagram page @silverliningslls.

   Gillespie chose to head team Cancer Crusaders “to raise money to help families like mine. My grandmother has battled cancer for the past three years, (and) seeing my family step up to support her and each other made me realize how lucky I am,” she said. “Unfortunately a lot of people don’t have the same. By raising money LLS can fund their patient support programs like their therapy groups, patient travel, and co-pay assistance programs.” The team held a bake sale on March 5th, and their fundraising link will be included at the end of this article.

   Soffian headed the Fight For Light team “to strive to make our world better in any and every way possible. Helping those suffering from Leukemia or Lymphoma is exactly what we hope to do, as our determination will help many families as well as future research,” she said. “Although I do not have a personal connection to someone currently suffering from cancer, I know people who have suffered, survived, and were recently diagnosed which pushes me to help everyone I can.” The team has received donations from oncologists at Virtua as well as many other doctors at Jefferson Health and Inspira, utilizing the research pillar to connect with these professionals. Their team’s fundraising link will be enclosed at the end of this article.

   The Student Visionaries program, while creating some friendly competition between Eastern students, has unified them in the goal of raising money for a project that will aid the world. The funds raised through this program will provide immense aid to those diagnosed with cancer and their families. The deadline to donate is March 18th, 2023, and The Voyager strongly encourages you to both donate, if it is within your means, and share this article with anyone you know who may be interested in donating. Through this, we can create a better tomorrow.

Fundraising Links:

Team Silver Linings https://events.lls.org/snj/svoysouthnj23/jkaurx 

Team Cancer Crusaders https://events.lls.org/snj/svoysouthnj23/sgillespie 

Team Fight For Light https://events.lls.org/snj/svoysouthnj23/tfightforl