Why you should donate $1 to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

As you know I'm fundraising for the The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). I want to reach my goal of $2,600 by June 1st.

Why should you donate $1?

• An estimated 912,938 people in the United States are living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma. 
• Every four minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. 
• Every 10 minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer.
• Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20. 
• Lymphomas are the most common blood cancers and incidence increases with age.
• The survival rate for myeloma is only 37.1 percent. Incidence is nearly twice as high among African Americans as for all other races.

What does the LLS do with your money? What has the LLS done?

• LLS has invested more than $680 million in research, approximately $69 million in fiscal year 2009 alone.
• Programs like the Specialized Center of Research (SCOR), which brings together teams of scientists from different disciplines and the LLS Translational Research Program, which funds research with a high probability of producing innovative patient treatments in an accelerated time frame, have directly contributed to many breakthrough cancer treatments.
• Research funded by LLS has led or contributed to advances such as chemotherapy, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and new, targeted oral therapies such as Gleevec®.
• The LLS provides critical information and support for patients and their families:
• LLS has made 4.9 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals in fiscal year 2009, through it's Information Resource Center (IRC), it's award winning Web site and community-based patient service programs. 
• The LLS puts people together with experts through Web-casts and teleconferences, and provided professional education through seminars, to extend the latest findings to a broader professional audience.
• Advocating for issues impacting blood cancer patients:
• With more than 20,000 advocacy volunteers throughout the country, our voice is being heard by those responsible for legislation to fund blood cancer research and educational programs.

All of this information can be found on the LLS website at www.lls.org. 

I urge please donate $1 on my fundrasing website  for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and pass the link on to your friends. The change you have lying around in your pocket can save someone's life.