Student raising funds to cure cancer
Curing a disease can be an overwhelming idea, a task that seems much too large for one person to take on.
And it’s likely more than an individual effort can accomplish.
But that doesn’t mean a single person can’t make an impact. It doesn’t mean that someone can’t contribute to a collaborative effort that makes a real difference.
Kara Friend knows that. And that’s why the 17-year-old Boyertown High School junior is dedicating the next several weeks to doing her part to cure blood cancers.
Friend is taking part in the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year program. It’s a seven-week philanthropic leadership development program for high school students with the goal of creating a world without blood cancers.
Students like Friend who participate in the program raise money for research to discover cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma.
This isn’t her first experience with the program. Last year she was a part of a team that took part.
But this time around she’s taking a leading role, heading up the Make a Difference Everyday team. It’s one of four teams in Pennsylvania.
Friend said her involvement in the program is personal.
“I don’t know anyone personally who has had this type of cancer, but my grandmother had breast cancer so that was what really motivated me to get involved,” she said. “She went through treatment and is now in remission, but it definitely changed her life. So I know the effect that cancer can have on an entire family.”
She said she was further drawn to the cause through her participation in the program last year, which gave her a unique view into the impact blood cancers have. The society gave team members a chance to meet one of its honored heroes — a young child named Asher who had been diagnosed with leukemia lymphoma.
“It was really eye-opening to hear what he and his family had gone through,” she said. “And knowing that the funds we raised were going toward finding a cure so that other kids don’t have to suffer through the same thing in the future was really rewarding.”
Over the next several weeks, Friend and her 13 other team members will be holding an assortment of fundraisers and soliciting donations from various local businesses.
Friend said the team is taking donations online and has chosen to host a silent auction at the conclusion of the campaign. So far the team has support from Redner’s Markets but is looking for more corporate sponsors to make the auction a success.
She said the goal is to raise $50,000 — the amount they need to get their names on a research project.
“That’s the goal that we’re striving for,” she said.