Local High School Leads County in Leukemia Fundraising Drive

Students at Frederick Douglass High School recently took first place in Prince George's County in a fundraising drive to cure leukemia and related diseases.

The students raised about $2,100 in February and March in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Series High School Challenge program (Pennies For Patients), according to Stacey Matusko, a spokeswoman for the society's National Capital Area Chapter.

Besides Frederick Douglass, the challenge program involved three other high schools in Prince George's County, five in Montgomery County and two in Northern Virginia, and it raised more than $130,000 for cancer research.

The mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services. To learn more, please click here or contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

The LLS Student Series is a service learning, character education and philanthropy program where students help children and adults in their fight against blood cancers like leukemia. More than 14.5 million students and 850,000 educators in 28,000 schools across the U.S. participate annually. Since its beginning, students have raised more than $288 million for the LLS.

To learn more about the 2016 High School Challenge, please click here.

Follow the LLS National Capital Area Chapteer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @LLSNatCap.