MaryEllen Carr's Team In Training Page
The Thomas Lyle Carr, MD & Mary Fox Carr Memorial Fund For Research
Dear Family & Friends,
You are among the first to learn of my latest—and most ambitious—endeavor.
On June 21st, I plan to run the Mayor’s Marathon in Anchorage for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program.
This shouldn’t surprise you. Anchorage will be the 11th marathon I’ve completed as a lymphoma survivor! After multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, a bone marrow transplant and other indignities no body should have to endure, running 26.2 miles feels almost like a walk in the park.
You’re the reason I’m still here. Why? Since joining The Leukemia & Lymohoma Society (LLS) in 1999 and my first marathon back in 2002, I’ve raised $98,000 from my own pocket and from generous folks like you. That money funds research…which helps the world’s best & brightest scientists turn scientific data into life-enhancing treatments.
I am so grateful to be alive.
Which brings me back to that ambitious endeavor I mentioned above. My goal is to raise another $75,000 for LLS, but instead of it taking nine years, I plan to raise the amount in six months! Why the rush? The need is urgent. While we’re winning battles against blood cancers, the war goes on, with the five-year survival rates for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma displaying vastly uneven rates for improvement.
By June 30, 2008, I plan to present $75,000 to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. And I need your help to succeed….
The Thomas Lyle Carr, MD & Mary Fox Carr Memorial Fund For Research
Perhaps you knew one or both of my parents. Mom & Dad, Lyle & Mary to their friends, were the heroes who encouraged me to fight for—and celebrate—my life.
This Memorial Fund honors my parents’ commitment to life because 100% of contributions are earmarked to aid the LLS mission of supporting scientists doing groundbreaking research. For example:
•Targeted therapies such as Gleevec, Rituxan and Velcade were created by LLS-funded researchers.
•LLS currently funds 54 active clinical trials.
•A LLS researcher invented a procedure that can rebuild the immune system within 30-60 days.
•Blood cancer research is the gateway to curing all cancers…Gleevec is now used for more than six different cancers, including brain and esophagus.
I truly believe that your support can open new doors to tomorrow’s cures, and help more people right now.
That’s why I’m reaching out today to you. I’m asking that you make a gift over and above the generosity you’ve already shown, to help support this important endeavor – to fund The Thomas Lyle Carr, MD & Mary Fox Carr Memorial Fund For Research and find cures for cancer.
I'm suggesting several levels of giving, from $150 to $10,000 ($150, $250, $500, $750, $1,000, $5,000, $10, 000). Every contribution makes a difference. While June 30th is my deadline, I’d love, if possible, to receive your tax-deductible gift by April 11th. You also have the opportunity to associate your organization with LLS - Team In Training through the Corporate Sponsorship opportunities.
When I run in Anchorage this June, I’ll be honored to know that you are supporting me every step of the way. I’ll be thinking of you and of my parents. If you have loved ones who are cancer survivors or who have lost the battle, please send me their names, which I will proudly wear on my shirt.
Although research can harness the potential for bold, new blood cancer discoveries, it’s not really about doctors or scientists.
It’s all about saving lives…lives that will be lost to leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and other cancers without your help.
Please. I urge you to do what you can. Join me in this race for life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Do not hesitate to contact me or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society if you are in need of additional information.
All the best,
MaryEllen Carr
P.S. If you’re not sure what to give, I figure that I will need at least two gifts of $10,000, five gifts of $5,000, ten gifts of $1,000, twenty-five gifts of $500, as well as many gifts ranging from $50 and up to reach my personal goal of $75,000 to help fight cancer! (And I just found out that LLS counts gifts of securities towards my fundraising. Let me know if you’d like to donate stocks or other assets.) Thanks again!
