"Light the Night" Fundraiser for Leukemia Lymphoma Society Is Back
By Sydney Steidl
October 2021
The Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) “Light the Night” fundraiser made its return Thursday, October 14th after being held virtually last year due to the pandemic.
The primary purposes of the LLS, as stated on their website, are to fight for policies that give easier access to new treatments, cover costs for treatments, and to raise awareness for blood cancers in order to increase the knowledge of early symptoms. Additionally, they work to fund further research, which they have done with over $1.3 billion since 1949.
One of the organization’s largest-scale fundraising events is “Light The Night,” which takes place annually on a Thursday night in October. The event started in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 27 years ago when one family walked through their neighborhood with balloons in order to honor one of their loved ones who had been diagnosed. “Light the Night'' has since expanded nationally to 165 different events, according to the Madison chapter’s Campaign Development Manager Shannon Ratchman.
The event is a major component of the LLS community. “There is hands down nothing like the connections you make with the people who participated,” says Ratchman. “Really, our organization is designed to make relationships, and that’s something I personally love doing.”
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event still looked different than it has in past years, especially because of the high number of survivor participants who are at high risk for severe cases of Covid-19. The organization upheld a strong mask recommendation in order to protect one another, as well as offered a virtual event the following Thursday for those who would not be able to safely attend the in-person walk.
However, despite the differing circumstances, “Light the Night” continues to serve as a strong fundraising event. According to Ratchman, the total of the three events held in Wisconsin are on pace to pass a million dollars raised for the third year in a row.
At the event, attendees may choose a lantern—an evolution from the originating balloons—from one of three categories: yellow lanterns to show remembrance for a loved one, white for survivors of blood cancer, and red to show support, either generally or for a specific loved one.
During the opening ceremony, one segment gave special recognition to the Honored Hero who, this year, was seventeen-year-old Madison West senior Sasha Posen. Posen spoke about her years battling leukemia and the difficult journey she underwent to arrive in her current state of remission. In addition to her strength in fighting her own cancer, she has committed to helping others, and her team has fundraised around $2,400 so far this season for the organization.
After the opening ceremony, the hundreds of lanterns were then lit, illuminating the streets as the crowd participated in a two-mile walk in the area around the Mallards stadium to show their support for ending blood cancers.
Donations can be made at Donate to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for the continued efforts of the LLS. If you would like to support Posen’s fundraiser specifically, you can do so at Sasha's Light The Night Fundraiser.
[Sources: https://www.lls.org/, https://www.lightthenight.org/]
October 2021
The Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) “Light the Night” fundraiser made its return Thursday, October 14th after being held virtually last year due to the pandemic.
The primary purposes of the LLS, as stated on their website, are to fight for policies that give easier access to new treatments, cover costs for treatments, and to raise awareness for blood cancers in order to increase the knowledge of early symptoms. Additionally, they work to fund further research, which they have done with over $1.3 billion since 1949.
One of the organization’s largest-scale fundraising events is “Light The Night,” which takes place annually on a Thursday night in October. The event started in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 27 years ago when one family walked through their neighborhood with balloons in order to honor one of their loved ones who had been diagnosed. “Light the Night'' has since expanded nationally to 165 different events, according to the Madison chapter’s Campaign Development Manager Shannon Ratchman.
The event is a major component of the LLS community. “There is hands down nothing like the connections you make with the people who participated,” says Ratchman. “Really, our organization is designed to make relationships, and that’s something I personally love doing.”
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event still looked different than it has in past years, especially because of the high number of survivor participants who are at high risk for severe cases of Covid-19. The organization upheld a strong mask recommendation in order to protect one another, as well as offered a virtual event the following Thursday for those who would not be able to safely attend the in-person walk.
However, despite the differing circumstances, “Light the Night” continues to serve as a strong fundraising event. According to Ratchman, the total of the three events held in Wisconsin are on pace to pass a million dollars raised for the third year in a row.
At the event, attendees may choose a lantern—an evolution from the originating balloons—from one of three categories: yellow lanterns to show remembrance for a loved one, white for survivors of blood cancer, and red to show support, either generally or for a specific loved one.
During the opening ceremony, one segment gave special recognition to the Honored Hero who, this year, was seventeen-year-old Madison West senior Sasha Posen. Posen spoke about her years battling leukemia and the difficult journey she underwent to arrive in her current state of remission. In addition to her strength in fighting her own cancer, she has committed to helping others, and her team has fundraised around $2,400 so far this season for the organization.
After the opening ceremony, the hundreds of lanterns were then lit, illuminating the streets as the crowd participated in a two-mile walk in the area around the Mallards stadium to show their support for ending blood cancers.
Donations can be made at Donate to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for the continued efforts of the LLS. If you would like to support Posen’s fundraiser specifically, you can do so at Sasha's Light The Night Fundraiser.
[Sources: https://www.lls.org/, https://www.lightthenight.org/]