Friday, August 6, 2010

2010 Light the Night Walk!

Click here to donate!

Hello again, friends!
I have been working with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for more than 8 years now to help raise awareness for blood-related cancers. LLS has supported my family through some very difficult times and I am committed to doing anything I can to eliminate blood-related cancers. Please help me either by joining Team WakeMed, the Adams Angels or by contributing to my fundraising page!

My Family's Story
For those who don't know me, blood-related cancer has touched my life since I was in sixth grade when a classmate and family friend died of leukemia. By my sophomore year of college, I had lost three close friends to leukemia. That was just the beginning.

In 2002, I signed up for the Light the Night walk with a friend whose grandfather had passed away from Leukemia. Little did I know that in February of 2003, my niece, Sherilyn Adams, at age 11, would be diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), the most rare and complicated form of childhood leukemia. After nearly three years of spending months at a time at the hospital, Sherilyn completed a successful bone marrow transplant and was well on the road to recovery.

Just as Sherilyn was finally ready to return to school in August 2006, her sister Veronica Adams was diagnosed with same rare disease just prior to starting her sophomore year of college. The next few months, Sherilyn watched Veronica go through the same intense treatment she'd been through, and just as Veronica began recovering, Sherilyn relapsed for the last time in February 2007. There was nothing more the doctors could do for her. My family and I spent the next ten months cherishing every day with Sherilyn until she lost her battle on November 14, 2007. Fortunately, Veronica continues to do well and just graduated from college Magna Cum Laude after missing an entire year of school!

Our Pledge
My family and I have pledged to do everything we can to ensure no family ever has to endure the pain that cancer brings to families, friends and communities. Our Light the Night team, the Adams Angels, has been the top fundraising team for five consecutive years, raising more than $100,000 for LLS. I recently participated in LLS Team in Training Program Half Marathon and raised another $5,000 for LLS. Last year, I joined the LTN Executive Sponsors Committee to engage local businesses in the walk in hopes of making an even greater impact. Please help me do even more by making a contribution today!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Seeking Corporate Sponsors for 2009 Light the Night Walk

Welcome to my blog in support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). My name is Coleen Smith and I am a local Public Relations professional with a personal passion for supporting LLS and blood-related cancer research.

I am thrilled to be a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's 2009 Executive Sponsors Committee for the 2009 Light the Night Walk, scheduled for October 2009 in both downtown Raleigh and downtown Durham. My goal is to work closely with local companies such as yours to secure $15,000 in corporate sponsorships to support this year's event. Our committee's collective goal is to raise at least $50,000.

Please help us reach our goal and consider signing up to be a corporate sponsor or by forming a corporate walk team. There are exceptional marketing benefits to participating in either of our local walk events, and I am happy to schedule a meeting to review all the options and benefits.

Your donations can go such a long way to fund very important research and support programs for blood-related cancers. We've all been touched by cancer in some way or another. Funding research is the only way we can all work together to find a cure.

My Family's Story

For those of you who don't know me, blood-related cancer has touched my life since I was in sixth grade when a classmate and family friend died of leukemia. By my sophomore year of college, I had lost three close friends to leukemia. That was just the beginning.

In 2002, I signed up for the Light the Night walk with a friend whose grandfather had passed away from Leukemia. Little did I know that in February of 2003, my niece, Sherilyn Adams, at age 11, would be diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), the most rare and complicated form of childhood leukemia. After nearly three years of spending months at a time at the hospital, Sherilyn completed a successful bone marrow transplant and was well on the road to recovery.

Just as Sherilyn was finally ready to return to school in August 2006, her sister Veronica Adams was diagnosed with same rare disease just prior to starting her sophomore year of college. The next few months, Sherilyn watched Veronica go through the same intense treatment she'd been through, and just as Veronica began recovering, Sherilyn relapsed for the last time in February 2007. There was nothing more the doctors could do for her. My family and I spent the next ten months cherishing every day with Sherilyn until she lost her battle on November 14, 2007. Fortunately, Veronica continues to do well and is completing her junior year of college.

Our Pledge

My family and I have pledged to do everything we can to ensure no family ever has to endure the pain that cancer brings to families, friends and communities. Our Light the Night team, the Adams Angels, has been the top fundraising team for five consecutive years, raising more than $100,000 for LLS. I recently participated in LLS Team in Training Program Half Marathon and raised another $5,000 for LLS. My position on the LTN Executive Sponsors Committee is my way of engaging local businesses in hopes of making an even greater impact.