Campaign 2008

Our exciting 2008 campaign is gearing up for a grand start on April 10th with a Kick Off party hosted by Land Rover America's Cup of Polo at the Italian Embassy! The ten-week fundraising competition will culminate with a celebration of everyone's efforts at the black-tie Grand Finale Gala on Saturday, June 14th at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, with dinner, drinks, entertainment, dancing, and a fabulous silent auction. Last year Michelle Fried of Johnson & Johnson and Patrick Judge of Beltway Cleaning Services, were named The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man & Woman of the Year. The 2007 candidates raised over $860,000 for blood cancer research and patient services. We've set our sights high for 2008 and know with our great group of candidates and fabulous sponsors we'll be sure to succeed. 

Honorees
All participants raise funds in honor of the Girl and Boy of the Year. The 2008 honorees are Hunter Ruderman and Hannah McNeal. Hunter is a survivor of AML, Acuter Mylogenous Leukemia. Hannah is currently finishing up her treatment for ALL, T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. We're thrilled to have both honorees here to cheer us on to our goal of $1 Million. In 2007, we honored Faith Froehlich and Andrew Hughes. Both are through treatment and living cancer free.

History
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man & Woman of the Year campaign began in 1990 in San Francisco to honor John Spencer, a valued employee at Hastings Clothier in San Francisco and a Society volunteer. Spencer died of leukemia at the age of 39. It was in John's memory that Hastings began supporting the Society's Northern California Chapter with the San Francisco Man & Woman of the Year event. Now, more than 40 Man & Woman of the Year campaigns occur across the nation, making this a highly visible fundraising program.

The Reason
Although someone new is diagnosed with a blood cancer every five minutes, there is great hope for the future. The Society is the world's largest national voluntary health organization dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and to improving the quality of life of patients and families.

The Candidates
The ideal candidates are community and business leaders who are philanthropic, ambitious, socially active, resourceful and passionate about making a difference in the lives of people suffering from blood cancers. Their unstoppable ambition drives them to fundraise in a very large-scale capacity with record-breaking results.

The Other Reason
FUN! Everyone involved with Man & Woman of the Year is surrounded by diverse people, fantastic parties, a dedicated staff, a supportive committee, an exciting finale event and the opportunity to gain new friends and contacts. 2004 Woman of the Year, Tamara Christian, summed it up by saying, "It's only 10 weeks, but it's 10 weeks that changed my life forever."

For More Information
Contact Katie Goode at 703.960.1100 x215 or Katie.Goode@lls.org