The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Greater Bay Area Chapter recently honored a local Walgreens store by declaring it — for a second consecutive year — the best fundraiser during the 2015 Light The Night Walk campaign. The San Francisco store raised nearly $2,000 by selling “Light the Night” paper icons over the first 14 days of September, supporting a campaign that celebrates blood cancer survivors, remembers those lost to the disease, and raises awareness of the need for a cure and better treatments.
The Powell Street store, led by District Manager Dave Devencenzi, raised a total of $1,963.17, according to a press release, part of a total of $108,016.13 raised throughout Northern California during the two-week sale. The paper icons sold for $1 each at participating locations across the U.S., and featured pictures of young blood cancer patients.
LLS is the world’s largest nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, and providing education and assistance to patients and their families. The LLS mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.
Light the Night Walk brings together patients, families, friends, and communities to honor and remember those stricken with blood cancer. The event also aims to educate the general public on the importance of research into a potential cure and better treatments, and access to treatments, for patients of blood cancers. These diseases are considered difficult to diagnose early since the initial symptoms are usually vague and can be easily attributed to other conditions.
LLS campaign members celebrated the achievement of the Walgreens store’s management and employees on Dec. 16 with a pizza party, an LLS giveaway for staff and customers, and an awards ceremony, during which store’s manager, Michael Joseph, was given an artwork created by a blood cancer survivor as a symbol of all survivors’ gratitude and appreciation.
