About 3 years ago I worked with my friend Sean Mahon on his campaign to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year competition. I may have sent you a letter similar to this asking for your donation. Sean won the title of Man of the Year and our campaign raised over $65,000 for one of the most worthy causes out there. This year I am running for Woman of the Year, and again am asking for your tax-deductible contribution.

The Man & Woman of the Year competition is a friendly spirited one in which candidates vie for the title of Man or Woman of the Year by conducting a fundraising campaign over a period of 9 weeks. Every dollar raised counts as one vote and the male and female candidates with the most votes are named Man or Woman of the Year.

I personally don’t care about being crowned Woman of the Year. What I do care about is the fact that there are an estimated 785,000 Americans who are presently living with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. Every five minutes (nearly 300 every day), someone in the United States learns that they have one of these blood cancers. I know at least 5 people who have been afflicted with one of these diseases. Chances are you do too. Because of money raised by organizations like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, cure rates for some forms of childhood leukemia have risen from 4% in 1960 to nearly 85% today. However, incidences of lymphoma are on the rise, and leukemia is still the leading disease killer of children and young adults under 20 in our country.

I have put together a team of friends (including Sean, of course) and together we are setting out to make a difference by hosting a number of fundraising events. We are planning a Bootcamp-A-Thon at Barry’s Bootcamp, which we did 3 years ago and which was a huge success; we are going to have a neighborhood-wide yard sale, a loose-change drive, and a short film festival.

However, a large number of campaign contributions come from friends’ donations, which is why I’m writing to you now. I hope that you will consider sending a check to me made out to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I have enclosed a return envelope for your convenience and an Individual Donor form should you choose to use a credit card.

Another way to donate is to go to the Man & Woman of the Year website and make a donation on-line. Simply go to http://www.active.com/donate/glamwoy06/glaKAnthon and make your donation at the bottom of the page.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society gratefully acknowledges all contributions by letter for your individual tax purposes.

With warm appreciation for your support in this fight,

Kate

Kate Anthony

kate@kateanthony.com