RAISING AWARENESS AND THE STAKES: THE RETURN OF UNITE TO FIGHT

BY: CASEY CHARLES

North Royalton’s students have made their presence known by handing out bracelets at home basketball games, coordinating the carnation gram sale, and setting up the shoe donation boxes at each school in the district. For a second year in a row, North Royalton will be proudly represented by the students in Unite to Fight, a nonprofit organization directly tied to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Led by seniors Alex Bottomley and Fiona Parker, the group aims to rally enough local support to land the top spot in the regional fundraising competition.

Thanks to the efforts of the team last year, Unite to Fight was able to raise $20,000 alone. Together, the grand total raised for all Cleveland schools in 2022 reached over $1 million. With nearly double the number of active members, Unite to Fight has increased their goal to $25,000 for 2023. All dollars collected directly support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a interna- tionally-recognized charitable organization with a focus of fighting blood diseases.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has helped fund the research of multiple new cancer treatments, with many already receiving FDA approval. The three main types of blood cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, have devastated the lives of families and friends. The American Cancer Society estimates that there have already been about 24,000 leukemia-related deaths in America this year, with over a thousand of those deaths having come from the state of Ohio. Despite the grim approximation, current advancements in technology and medicine have made the possibility of finding a permanent cure for these diseases more conceivable than ever before.

In order to meet their new goal of $25,000, the students in Unite to Fight have dedicated hours of planning and creativity into new ways to muster support among students. Some of the highly-anticipated activities that will highlight their campaign this year include powderpuff volleyball, the return of the coin drive, and an in-school student game show.

Male students across all four grade levels are invited to participate in the powderpuff student volleyball tournament, while the game show is limited to upperclassmen only. The group intends to publicize these fundraising efforts to a much greater extent than it was able to last year. By keeping up with announcements, class emails, and posters in the high school, students can make sure that they do not miss out on any of the fun that is headed their way in the coming weeks. Parents, students, and staff are also encouraged to follow the Instagram handle “@unite. tofight” to keep up with their latest news and updates.

As a current team member of Unite to Fight, I am very grateful to be surrounded by such selfless individuals in this incredible campaign. In a year where lymphoma blindsided my family, joining Unite to Fight became far more than just another activity to put on a resume. The organization became the best way I could confront the impact lymphoma made. The more I have been able to talk to local business owners, parents, staff, and students about Unite to Fight, the more I have realized just how many people within our community have also been affected in some way, shape, or form by blood disease.

Instead of giving up hope, view these next few weeks as a window of opportunity. This team still needs a lot of help if it plans on reaching its goal by March 18th. For those interested in a way to directly support the team, consider making a donation to the Unite to Fight team link at https://events.lls.org/noh/ svoynoh23/tunitetofi, or my own link at https://events.lls.org/noh/svoynoh23/ CCharles. Despite how much one can hope, this campaign will only go as far as the local community allows it to.