Event Date: December 13, 2010

Every four minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with blood cancer.

Blood cancers such as leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes are cancers that originate in the bone marrow or lymphatic tissues.

According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, more than 137,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2010. New cases of leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma will account for 9.0 percent of the 1,529,560 new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States this year.

Many people are affected by these painful, incurable diseases. I had a great time volunteering with them last year, so I wanted to make sure I included this worthy organization again as part of this year’s 20 Causes, 20 Days.

I met up with Cynthia, Anna, Colleen, and Sue at the LLS offices. Campaign Manager Becky Post greeted us at the door and assigned us our tasks for the evening: we would be making calls on this evening to people who had indicated an interest in joining their Team In Training program.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT) is the world’s leading sports charity training program. TNT’s dynamic, hands-on training program enables participants to realize their dream of completing a marathon, half marathon, triathlon, century ride or hike adventure.

TNT is just one of many kinds of fundraisers organized by the LLS to help with research funding for local and national scientists, as well as to help improve quality of life for cancer patients.

We were briefed by Campaign Coordinator Jenaye Shepherd about the scripts, and headed off to our cubicles to start making calls. The goal of our calls was to invite people to upcoming workouts to begin training.

Collectively, the volunteers and I left many voicemail messages. A few of the people we spoke with had had babies, surgeries, or had started jobs so they’d be unable to participate. About a half-dozen people were excited to start training.

Everyone I spoke with thanked me on behalf of Team In Training for the work we were doing. They knew it was for a great cause, and they knew they would be doing something good for themselves too.

On this evening, we ended up making 231 calls in two hours. It was great to hear the overwhelming positive feedback, and the excitement from the people who would be participating.

Tonight’s volunteer event was another example of something I’ve learned throughout this project: every little bit helps. Many charitable organizations are strapped for resources and volunteers are the true lifeblood of accomplishing their goals.

Anna agreed: “I wasn’t exactly sure what we would be doing, but I am familiar with the organization and was glad to do whatever I could to help. Calling people is a lot easier to do when you know the people, for the most part, aren’t completely furious that you are calling them!”

The LLS is always looking for volunteers of all kinds. Help around the office, events of all kinds, and helping spread the word. Take some time to help further awareness of ways to help fight cancer by volunteering with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Volunteer information is below.

Thanks to Becky, Jenaye, and the LLS for having us out there tonight. It was a fun experience to hear the enthusiasm on the other end of the phone, and know that we were helping to make a difference.

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Team In Training
Volunteer Information
(916) 348-1793