A Chance to Give Back

2010 was a really good year.  Plain and simple.  So as the ball dropped and in came 2011, I set really high expectations for myself.  A new year, a new opportunity. 

Only a few days into the next decade, I was pleasantly surprised to find one of those new opportunities awkwardly thrust into my lap.  No, really.  It was pretty awkward.  My friend Nadine—who many of you know from her work with GopherHole and from just being an all-around sweet person—had invited me over for wine after the Gophers narrowly beat Indiana.  She was working on her computer when she quietly gasped, stopped typing, and peered over the screen at me.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this….. I have something to ask you.”

Whenever anyone starts off with—I have something to ask you—I always expect the worst.  But it was far from that.  Going off the suggestion from her friend Dana Litman, Nadine proceeded to ask me if I would be interested in working with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Minnesota during their annual charity.  As she explained more about the opportunity, I couldn’t help but get excited.  It was exactly what I needed to get me out of my mid-winter funk.

For the last nine years, the LLS has hosted a Man & Woman of the Year competition that is basically a ten-week fundraising competition between ‘professionals’ in the Twin Cities area.  I use professionals loosely, because I already have a hard time calling myself a woman, let alone a professional (it's the fear of getting older, I think).  The candidates must be nominated by someone involved in the organization and they basically spend the winter months planning events to raise money for LLS.

Dana, last year’s Man of the Year, raised nearly $30,000 and while I’m not competitive when it comes to playing sports, this fundraising opportunity has definitely ignited my competitive juices.  This year’s campaign will run from April 7^th until June 17^th and while you might think—it’s only January—I’m already on the move, getting events on the books and talking to people who are interested in helping. 

While it is a competition, it is very easy to remind myself why I wanted to do this in the first place.  I’m very lucky that I have never been personally affected by leukemia or lymphoma.  But, unfortunately, that isn’t the case for many families in Minnesota and around the country.  An estimated 912,938 Americans are living with a type of blood cancer, while a new case is diagnosed every five minutes.  Sadly, someone with a blood cancer also dies every 10 minutes.  But through organizations like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and its fundraisers, that staggering statistic can be helped. 

I am very honored that Dana and Nadine thought of me as someone they would want to represent The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and I plan on doing everything in my power to kick some major butt during this competition.  The more money raised, the more the LLS can do to stop these diseases in their tracks.  As more of the details get worked out, I’ll update my blog with opportunities that you can get involved in as well.  Looking at hosting some pretty fun events in April, May, and June and I would love to have your support through the busy ten weeks.

-Intern Gal :)

(And unfortunately for those of you who already asked, I don't have access to a dunk tank.  Tough luck.)