April 20, 2025 • 15 mins
We spoke with Honored Hero Lynsey Richardson and Josh Berman about the visionary program.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. Thank you for listening to Community Access today.
My guests are from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I
have Josh Berman here and Lindsay Richardson. Good morning, Good
good morning. So tell me about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
What does it do?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah, the leukumulan Foma Society is an organization aimed at
curing all forms of blood cancer. That includes of course lymphoma, leukemia,
Hodgkins lymphoma, and non Hotchins lymphoma as well as myeloma.
Those are sort of the big umbrella blood cancers, but
there's over one hundred different types and variations of blood cancer.
And again, the lucumulan Foma Society is focused on improving
(00:39):
the quality of life of patients and families as they're
undergoing their blood cancer treatment while also searching for and
seeking out both better, safer treatments and hopefully ultimately a cure.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
And if anybody would like more information, they can go
to ls dot org. They can find out about all
the programs and services.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
That's exactly right. So if you visit ls dot org
you'll be able to reach our our Information Resource Center,
which has information about all different types of blood cancers
to help you navigate your diagnosis. We also certainly have
resources aimed at connecting you with peer supports or certainly
things like nutrition, counseling, financial aid resources, really anything a
family might need as they're undergoing their treatment and diagnosis.
(01:19):
And ultimately we want to be able to help families
to not only overcome their diagnosis, but help them to
advance their life into their survivorship phase and be able
to live long, healthy lives.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And that is such a blessing to have that information
at their fingertips, because it's such a frightening time and
to have accurate information absolutely can be very consoling. Comforting
makes a big difference. So, lindsay, how did you come
to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, so I actually got involved last year. I went
to the Grand Finale last year and I met Josh
and a couple of really other, really great people. And
then I get an email from Josh and he actually
invites me to be the Honored Hero for this year's
Visionary Campaign. And I was completely honored and shocked at
(02:07):
the same time. And I didn't know what to say,
but I was actively going through my treatment all of
twenty twenty four. I actually just found out two wednesdays
ago that I am actually in remission, and so yeah,
that was really huge news and it's been overwhelming emotions
to say the least. But I'm yeah involved in all
things fundraising right now and hoping to continue to be
(02:28):
involved in this wonderful organization because obviously it is very
very close to my heart with all that they do.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So for people who don't know, we need to talk
about what is a Visionary campaign and what is an
Honored Hero.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Yeah, So Visionaries Campaign is the annual fundraiser that Lukimia
Lymphoma Society puts on. It's a ten week philanthropic fundraising
competition between candidates. Candidates are nominated by people in the
community and after that it's you have a big kickoff
event and after that it's go time. You just want
to The goal is to rease as much money as
possible and it is a competition, so obviously the goal
(03:03):
is to win to be named the Greater Connecticut Visionary
of the Year, and then the Honored Hero serves a
really important role for the campaign. It kind of serves
that community connection and like local connection to people who
it's their why like why are we doing this? So?
Why are we fundraising? Why are we want a future?
Why do we want a future without blood cancer? So
(03:23):
for me, being an honored hero means I get to
provide people my story and I get to tell them
why it's so important to have a blood cancer free future.
And it's the theme about LLS is really this more themed.
It's like, you know, I want more birthdays, I want
more happy memories. I want to walk down the aisle
at my wedding, like I want to be able to
do all of these really great things. And it's important
(03:45):
to know that it is possible with an organization like LS.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
What could we do to help a visionaries campaign?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
So we have a lot of really great things. All
of our candidates are doing really amazing, incredible things. I'm
a little biased because my partner is actually also a
candidate this year, and so we have a couple of
really cool events coming up. We actually have one on
April thirtieth down in New Haven. Mickelina's on State is
doing a bingo campaign with us. We'll have more information
(04:12):
on that coming soon. Also, we have a bingo night
done at Hawkridge Winery that is May second, from five
thirty to eight thirty, so tickets will be available for
that as well. We also have an event this Saturday
at Hops on the Hill in South Glastonbury, so come
on down. It's from one to three. There will be
(04:34):
a ton of really great revel prizes. There will be
a ton of just good friends, food, beer, all that
you can imagine. And then if you want to donate
directly to my campaign, the link is bit dot l
y slash.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
L ls l r v o Y.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
If you go to that link, you'll actually learn a
little bit more about my story. I was chosen to
be the Honored Hero this year, so Josh met me
in twenty twenty four last year when I was in
the middle of my battle, my fourth battle with chronic
lymphasidic leukemia. I have been battling that since twenty eighteen,
and like I said, I did just find out two
wednesdays ago that I am in remission from my fourth battle,
(05:15):
which is incredible news. It's again it's kind of why
we do this. We also have another honored Hero who
is with us as well, not with us in studio,
but she is with us as well. I don't want
our other ownor hero.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
This year, and we are always really deliberate to choose
both an adult and a child to honor each year
through the campaign because we want to make sure we're
telling stories and sharing the lives and the perspectives of
all different people have experienced blood cancer because certainly, and
I say this all the time, there's never a good
time in anyone's life to be diagnosed with any form
of cancer, but blood cancer in particular can be, you know,
truly devastating. So our other honored hero and we're really
(05:49):
excited to be celebrating her as well, is a young
girl named Adriana who's from Plainville and just she overcame
her diagnosis with leukemia in June of twenty twenty three
and is doing incredibly well today. And one of the
things that I really love about the honored Heroes in
the way that we are able to bring these folks
into our campaigns. It becomes an opportunity for us as
a community to really wrap our arms around these folks
(06:12):
and celebrate them and just let them know that there
are people here in Connecticut and in their communities, in
their backyards who you know, support what they're doing and
want to see a cancer free future. Want to make
sure that no other children, no other young adults, have
to go through this, you know, challenging time, and it's
amazing to be able to see folks rally, to be
able to support them, but it's also amazing for us
(06:33):
to be able to just show them our love and
our celebration and our appreciation for their very difficult journeys
that they've been through.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
So there's something to be said about people who get it.
They get where you're at, what you're going through.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Oh. Absolutely, Yeah. With LLLS, it's been incredible. I've met
so many different resources, so many different people who just
understands what it's like to go through treatment and all
the different emotions and side effects that come with chem
and it's so good to just not feel alone. And
that's why I love LLS so much, because I was
introduced to so many different people that it's Hey, if
(07:09):
I text you at three in the morning because my
mind can't stop working or I'm going through the side
effect that I've never experienced before, it's a refreshing text
right back saying hey, it's okay, like this is what's
going on, Like you'll get through it. Or it's dinners
or a phone call, or it's even just celebrating. I
call this my up party. It's celebrating the little wins.
(07:30):
You know, going through a cancer diagnosis, you see a
lot of different doctors and you got to you get
a lot of bad news. That's just the reality of
dealing with this, and you got to make it a
point to really celebrate all the tiny wins. And so
that's why I call them up parties, because sometimes they're not.
It could be your skin is zero point one percent
cleaner than last time, and you know, it may not
(07:51):
seem like a small like a win at all, but
you've got to celebrate those. So it's really finding those
people who are going to be like, you know what,
let's go out to dinner right now and we're going
to go celebrate the crap out of the up party.
And so that's been truly amazing to find with LLS
as well.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Your people, Yeah, your tribe.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
One hundred percent, and it's all people maybe they haven't
gone through it themselves, but it's people who live and
breathe this, Like you know, some of the leadership team
and you know the board members who go through this
who are really in charge of this, and Visionaries is
so special because everybody has the same goal. We may
be competing against each other, but we all have the
same goal that we don't want people to have to
go through this continuously. You know, CLL For me specifically,
(08:30):
it's a chronic leukemia, which means remissions can last anywhere
from one to five years, which means for a lot
of people who suffer from this diagnosis or even multiple diagnoses,
leukemia often can turn into other cancer diagnoses. It can
you know, be something that comes back. So it's yeah,
it's just nice that we all have that goal of
(08:50):
having a blood cancer free future.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Absolutely, and a LS really fuels our mission of curing
blood cancer and advancing treatments through campaigns Visionaries of the Year,
and so it's incredible to be able to see community
leaders step forward to share their vision of a cancer
free future and help to put that vision in action
by fundraising over the ten weeks. It's amazing to see
what they're able to accomplish in just ten weeks. And
(09:14):
I always joke with candidates, you know, it's about trying
to make you know, as big of an impact as
you can as quickly and efficiently as you can. And
I think the way that we structure it as a
competition makes it that much more fun to just be
able to see, you know, kind of how you can
stack up against the other folks here in Connecticut. Yeah,
but as Lindlay said, you know, we're all in this together.
And I think one of the really great things about
this competition is that there's no true loser to it.
(09:37):
The loser is blood cancer and the winner is all
of us getting that step closer to the world we
want to live in.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
And if people wanted to look at that, they would
go to Lsvisionaries dot org.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yes, you could find our campaign on LS Visionaries dot org.
That's where you'd be able to learn more about all
of the candidates who are competing across Connecticut and learn
more about the grand finale celebration, which again is coming
up on me.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
So how else can people help? Can they volunteer? Can
they donate?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Absolutely, we would love for folks to get engaged locally.
We have a couple other campaigns that happen across the area,
including our Light the Night campaign which comes up each fall,
and then we do also have a Student Visionaries of
the Year campaign particually just wrapped up at the very
end of March. Here the students I will share, not
to derail us here, but the students I will share
raised over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in just
(10:24):
a seven week competition that they took part in this
past winter. So really incredible to see high school students
stepping forward and sharing their vision for a cancer free
future as well and just the power of what they're
able to accomplish when they take action in their communities.
So again, lots of different ways that folks can get
involved locally. Again, a great place to start would be
(10:44):
to visit LLS dot org and to reach out for
volunteer opportunities there. Certainly, though, if folks do want to
reach out to us to be able to get involved
in your local community, you can always reach me at
Josh dot Berman at LLS dot org. That's Josh period
Burman b E R M A N at l LS
dot org.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
So this gala in may take me through the day.
What will happen.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
It's a really exciting night. We actually talk about it
as a live event because we come in that evening
to announce the winners of the Visionary of the Year competition.
But we come in that night not necessarily knowing who's
won yet it's still an ongoing competition right up to
the very final minutes of the evening. We actually close
the fundraising live during the event, and then we you know,
(11:28):
do the tabulations we needed to actually figure out who
the winner is and announce both our twenty twenty five
Visionary of the Year. But then all of the candidates
will be called to the stage to collectively announce the
impact that the entire campaign had across the ten weeks
this year. We have been aiming for a goal of
raising three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the ten
(11:50):
week period and we're hoping to get as close to
that goal as we possibly can. So we need everyone's
support in the final few weeks that we have here
leading up to May eighth, but again, really exciting night
where we all come together to celebrate and to find
out who our winners are.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
One last question for our honored Hero of the year,
why are you so passionate about all of this?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I'm so passionate. So being a twenty I was actually
diagnosed with my first round of canceers twenty one. It
was a different type of cancer that ended up coming
into leukemia. I was twenty three years old when I
was diagnosed with leukemia, and that's that timeframe where you're
really like supposed to be going out to parties and
figuring your life out and like doing all of these
crazy things. And there I was like picking out coffins
(12:33):
and will, like writing will stuff that no young teenage,
like no young adult should ever have to do. And
getting involved in a story in a campaign like LLS
really kind of like just made me realize if my
story and what I have gone through could help even
just one person understand that they're not alone, and like,
this is a future without blood cancer is attainable with donations,
(12:56):
you know, whether it's to my fundraiser, whether it's to
any of the other candidates. It just means the world
to know that there's organizations like LAS out there that
have that goal of, you know, one, not letting people
go through this alone. There's so many support systems, like
I can call Josh pretty much whenever I want, and
I know that he's going to answer or get back
to me very very quickly, or anybody that I've met
(13:18):
in the organization and just knowing that they have that
goal of you know, not having blood cancer be a
thing in the future, so that maybe one day I
can hear no evidence of disease, which you know means
remission for the final time, instead of having to think
in the back of my head, Okay, well this is chronic,
this might come back once I'm done with this fundraiser.
I really want to take that time to be able
to be a peer support person, be that you know,
(13:40):
person that somebody else can come and talk to and
saying like, I'm really struggling with this part of the
treatment or this, and I can really say that to them,
saying hey, I was right there, I did that, and
you know, we went through that and just kind of
go from there.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
So you must feel extremely gratified at this job. What's
it like for you.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Yeah, you know, I work for the lucumilin Foma Society
because it's a deeply personal mission for me. Unfortunately, I
lost my mother to a blood cancer when she was
very young, at just forty nine years old. I was
a teenager at the time, and so you know, certainly
that drove a passion for wanting to be part of
this community and wanting to, just as Lindsay said, help
create a world free from blood cancer so that other
(14:19):
families don't have to go through these types of tragedies.
But I stay with the lucumilin Foma Society because it's
an organization that does such an incredible job of putting
its mission into action, and I truly come to work
every day believing every single day we are taking a
step closer to a cancer free future.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that.
I'm speaking with Josh Berman and Lindsay Richardson from the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society again. It's LS dot org or
lsvisionaries dot org if you'd like to hear more about
the Visionaries. Congratulations on being an Honored Hero for twenty
twenty five. Lindsay, thank you so much. Thank you both
(14:57):
so much for being here and for sharing your stories.
Appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Thanks for your time, Thanks for having us
Good morning. Thank you for listening to Community Access today.
My guests are from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I
have Josh Berman here and Lindsay Richardson. Good morning, Good
good morning. So tell me about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
What does it do?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah, the leukumulan Foma Society is an organization aimed at
curing all forms of blood cancer. That includes of course lymphoma, leukemia,
Hodgkins lymphoma, and non Hotchins lymphoma as well as myeloma.
Those are sort of the big umbrella blood cancers, but
there's over one hundred different types and variations of blood cancer.
And again, the lucumulan Foma Society is focused on improving
(00:39):
the quality of life of patients and families as they're
undergoing their blood cancer treatment while also searching for and
seeking out both better, safer treatments and hopefully ultimately a cure.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
And if anybody would like more information, they can go
to ls dot org. They can find out about all
the programs and services.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
That's exactly right. So if you visit ls dot org
you'll be able to reach our our Information Resource Center,
which has information about all different types of blood cancers
to help you navigate your diagnosis. We also certainly have
resources aimed at connecting you with peer supports or certainly
things like nutrition, counseling, financial aid resources, really anything a
family might need as they're undergoing their treatment and diagnosis.
(01:19):
And ultimately we want to be able to help families
to not only overcome their diagnosis, but help them to
advance their life into their survivorship phase and be able
to live long, healthy lives.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And that is such a blessing to have that information
at their fingertips, because it's such a frightening time and
to have accurate information absolutely can be very consoling. Comforting
makes a big difference. So, lindsay, how did you come
to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, so I actually got involved last year. I went
to the Grand Finale last year and I met Josh
and a couple of really other, really great people. And
then I get an email from Josh and he actually
invites me to be the Honored Hero for this year's
Visionary Campaign. And I was completely honored and shocked at
(02:07):
the same time. And I didn't know what to say,
but I was actively going through my treatment all of
twenty twenty four. I actually just found out two wednesdays
ago that I am actually in remission, and so yeah,
that was really huge news and it's been overwhelming emotions
to say the least. But I'm yeah involved in all
things fundraising right now and hoping to continue to be
(02:28):
involved in this wonderful organization because obviously it is very
very close to my heart with all that they do.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So for people who don't know, we need to talk
about what is a Visionary campaign and what is an
Honored Hero.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Yeah, So Visionaries Campaign is the annual fundraiser that Lukimia
Lymphoma Society puts on. It's a ten week philanthropic fundraising
competition between candidates. Candidates are nominated by people in the
community and after that it's you have a big kickoff
event and after that it's go time. You just want
to The goal is to rease as much money as
possible and it is a competition, so obviously the goal
(03:03):
is to win to be named the Greater Connecticut Visionary
of the Year, and then the Honored Hero serves a
really important role for the campaign. It kind of serves
that community connection and like local connection to people who
it's their why like why are we doing this? So?
Why are we fundraising? Why are we want a future?
Why do we want a future without blood cancer? So
(03:23):
for me, being an honored hero means I get to
provide people my story and I get to tell them
why it's so important to have a blood cancer free future.
And it's the theme about LLS is really this more themed.
It's like, you know, I want more birthdays, I want
more happy memories. I want to walk down the aisle
at my wedding, like I want to be able to
do all of these really great things. And it's important
(03:45):
to know that it is possible with an organization like LS.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
What could we do to help a visionaries campaign?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
So we have a lot of really great things. All
of our candidates are doing really amazing, incredible things. I'm
a little biased because my partner is actually also a
candidate this year, and so we have a couple of
really cool events coming up. We actually have one on
April thirtieth down in New Haven. Mickelina's on State is
doing a bingo campaign with us. We'll have more information
(04:12):
on that coming soon. Also, we have a bingo night
done at Hawkridge Winery that is May second, from five
thirty to eight thirty, so tickets will be available for
that as well. We also have an event this Saturday
at Hops on the Hill in South Glastonbury, so come
on down. It's from one to three. There will be
(04:34):
a ton of really great revel prizes. There will be
a ton of just good friends, food, beer, all that
you can imagine. And then if you want to donate
directly to my campaign, the link is bit dot l
y slash.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
L ls l r v o Y.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
If you go to that link, you'll actually learn a
little bit more about my story. I was chosen to
be the Honored Hero this year, so Josh met me
in twenty twenty four last year when I was in
the middle of my battle, my fourth battle with chronic
lymphasidic leukemia. I have been battling that since twenty eighteen,
and like I said, I did just find out two
wednesdays ago that I am in remission from my fourth battle,
(05:15):
which is incredible news. It's again it's kind of why
we do this. We also have another honored Hero who
is with us as well, not with us in studio,
but she is with us as well. I don't want
our other ownor hero.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
This year, and we are always really deliberate to choose
both an adult and a child to honor each year
through the campaign because we want to make sure we're
telling stories and sharing the lives and the perspectives of
all different people have experienced blood cancer because certainly, and
I say this all the time, there's never a good
time in anyone's life to be diagnosed with any form
of cancer, but blood cancer in particular can be, you know,
truly devastating. So our other honored hero and we're really
(05:49):
excited to be celebrating her as well, is a young
girl named Adriana who's from Plainville and just she overcame
her diagnosis with leukemia in June of twenty twenty three
and is doing incredibly well today. And one of the
things that I really love about the honored Heroes in
the way that we are able to bring these folks
into our campaigns. It becomes an opportunity for us as
a community to really wrap our arms around these folks
(06:12):
and celebrate them and just let them know that there
are people here in Connecticut and in their communities, in
their backyards who you know, support what they're doing and
want to see a cancer free future. Want to make
sure that no other children, no other young adults, have
to go through this, you know, challenging time, and it's
amazing to be able to see folks rally, to be
able to support them, but it's also amazing for us
(06:33):
to be able to just show them our love and
our celebration and our appreciation for their very difficult journeys
that they've been through.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
So there's something to be said about people who get it.
They get where you're at, what you're going through.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Oh. Absolutely, Yeah. With LLLS, it's been incredible. I've met
so many different resources, so many different people who just
understands what it's like to go through treatment and all
the different emotions and side effects that come with chem
and it's so good to just not feel alone. And
that's why I love LLS so much, because I was
introduced to so many different people that it's Hey, if
(07:09):
I text you at three in the morning because my
mind can't stop working or I'm going through the side
effect that I've never experienced before, it's a refreshing text
right back saying hey, it's okay, like this is what's
going on, Like you'll get through it. Or it's dinners
or a phone call, or it's even just celebrating. I
call this my up party. It's celebrating the little wins.
(07:30):
You know, going through a cancer diagnosis, you see a
lot of different doctors and you got to you get
a lot of bad news. That's just the reality of
dealing with this, and you got to make it a
point to really celebrate all the tiny wins. And so
that's why I call them up parties, because sometimes they're not.
It could be your skin is zero point one percent
cleaner than last time, and you know, it may not
(07:51):
seem like a small like a win at all, but
you've got to celebrate those. So it's really finding those
people who are going to be like, you know what,
let's go out to dinner right now and we're going
to go celebrate the crap out of the up party.
And so that's been truly amazing to find with LLS
as well.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Your people, Yeah, your tribe.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
One hundred percent, and it's all people maybe they haven't
gone through it themselves, but it's people who live and
breathe this, Like you know, some of the leadership team
and you know the board members who go through this
who are really in charge of this, and Visionaries is
so special because everybody has the same goal. We may
be competing against each other, but we all have the
same goal that we don't want people to have to
go through this continuously. You know, CLL For me specifically,
(08:30):
it's a chronic leukemia, which means remissions can last anywhere
from one to five years, which means for a lot
of people who suffer from this diagnosis or even multiple diagnoses,
leukemia often can turn into other cancer diagnoses. It can
you know, be something that comes back. So it's yeah,
it's just nice that we all have that goal of
(08:50):
having a blood cancer free future.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Absolutely, and a LS really fuels our mission of curing
blood cancer and advancing treatments through campaigns Visionaries of the Year,
and so it's incredible to be able to see community
leaders step forward to share their vision of a cancer
free future and help to put that vision in action
by fundraising over the ten weeks. It's amazing to see
what they're able to accomplish in just ten weeks. And
(09:14):
I always joke with candidates, you know, it's about trying
to make you know, as big of an impact as
you can as quickly and efficiently as you can. And
I think the way that we structure it as a
competition makes it that much more fun to just be
able to see, you know, kind of how you can
stack up against the other folks here in Connecticut. Yeah,
but as Lindlay said, you know, we're all in this together.
And I think one of the really great things about
this competition is that there's no true loser to it.
(09:37):
The loser is blood cancer and the winner is all
of us getting that step closer to the world we
want to live in.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
And if people wanted to look at that, they would
go to Lsvisionaries dot org.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yes, you could find our campaign on LS Visionaries dot org.
That's where you'd be able to learn more about all
of the candidates who are competing across Connecticut and learn
more about the grand finale celebration, which again is coming
up on me.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
So how else can people help? Can they volunteer? Can
they donate?
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Absolutely, we would love for folks to get engaged locally.
We have a couple other campaigns that happen across the area,
including our Light the Night campaign which comes up each fall,
and then we do also have a Student Visionaries of
the Year campaign particually just wrapped up at the very
end of March. Here the students I will share, not
to derail us here, but the students I will share
raised over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in just
(10:24):
a seven week competition that they took part in this
past winter. So really incredible to see high school students
stepping forward and sharing their vision for a cancer free
future as well and just the power of what they're
able to accomplish when they take action in their communities.
So again, lots of different ways that folks can get
involved locally. Again, a great place to start would be
(10:44):
to visit LLS dot org and to reach out for
volunteer opportunities there. Certainly, though, if folks do want to
reach out to us to be able to get involved
in your local community, you can always reach me at
Josh dot Berman at LLS dot org. That's Josh period
Burman b E R M A N at l LS
dot org.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
So this gala in may take me through the day.
What will happen.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
It's a really exciting night. We actually talk about it
as a live event because we come in that evening
to announce the winners of the Visionary of the Year competition.
But we come in that night not necessarily knowing who's
won yet it's still an ongoing competition right up to
the very final minutes of the evening. We actually close
the fundraising live during the event, and then we you know,
(11:28):
do the tabulations we needed to actually figure out who
the winner is and announce both our twenty twenty five
Visionary of the Year. But then all of the candidates
will be called to the stage to collectively announce the
impact that the entire campaign had across the ten weeks
this year. We have been aiming for a goal of
raising three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the ten
(11:50):
week period and we're hoping to get as close to
that goal as we possibly can. So we need everyone's
support in the final few weeks that we have here
leading up to May eighth, but again, really exciting night
where we all come together to celebrate and to find
out who our winners are.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
One last question for our honored Hero of the year,
why are you so passionate about all of this?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
I'm so passionate. So being a twenty I was actually
diagnosed with my first round of canceers twenty one. It
was a different type of cancer that ended up coming
into leukemia. I was twenty three years old when I
was diagnosed with leukemia, and that's that timeframe where you're
really like supposed to be going out to parties and
figuring your life out and like doing all of these
crazy things. And there I was like picking out coffins
(12:33):
and will, like writing will stuff that no young teenage,
like no young adult should ever have to do. And
getting involved in a story in a campaign like LLS
really kind of like just made me realize if my
story and what I have gone through could help even
just one person understand that they're not alone, and like,
this is a future without blood cancer is attainable with donations,
(12:56):
you know, whether it's to my fundraiser, whether it's to
any of the other candidates. It just means the world
to know that there's organizations like LAS out there that
have that goal of, you know, one, not letting people
go through this alone. There's so many support systems, like
I can call Josh pretty much whenever I want, and
I know that he's going to answer or get back
to me very very quickly, or anybody that I've met
(13:18):
in the organization and just knowing that they have that
goal of you know, not having blood cancer be a
thing in the future, so that maybe one day I
can hear no evidence of disease, which you know means
remission for the final time, instead of having to think
in the back of my head, Okay, well this is chronic,
this might come back once I'm done with this fundraiser.
I really want to take that time to be able
to be a peer support person, be that you know,
(13:40):
person that somebody else can come and talk to and
saying like, I'm really struggling with this part of the
treatment or this, and I can really say that to them,
saying hey, I was right there, I did that, and
you know, we went through that and just kind of
go from there.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
So you must feel extremely gratified at this job. What's
it like for you.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Yeah, you know, I work for the lucumilin Foma Society
because it's a deeply personal mission for me. Unfortunately, I
lost my mother to a blood cancer when she was
very young, at just forty nine years old. I was
a teenager at the time, and so you know, certainly
that drove a passion for wanting to be part of
this community and wanting to, just as Lindsay said, help
create a world free from blood cancer so that other
(14:19):
families don't have to go through these types of tragedies.
But I stay with the lucumilin Foma Society because it's
an organization that does such an incredible job of putting
its mission into action, and I truly come to work
every day believing every single day we are taking a
step closer to a cancer free future.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that.
I'm speaking with Josh Berman and Lindsay Richardson from the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society again. It's LS dot org or
lsvisionaries dot org if you'd like to hear more about
the Visionaries. Congratulations on being an Honored Hero for twenty
twenty five. Lindsay, thank you so much. Thank you both
(14:57):
so much for being here and for sharing your stories.
Appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Thanks for your time, Thanks for having us
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