PRINTABLE COUPON: http://www.gapinc.com/giveandget/lls/
]]>PRINTABLE COUPON: http://www.gapinc.com/giveandget/lls/
Here's a first-hand look at LLS's programs helping blood cancer patients live longer, better lives. Thanks for your support!
Cross-posted at http://community.lls.org/blogs/atlls
Jennifer Donnelly is the mother of Matthew, an acute lymphocytic leukemia patient who's story is featured in the Gap Give & Get Campaign. Gap Give & Get gives you a 30% off coupon to shop at all Gap, Inc. store, with 5% of the proceeds going to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Jennifer shared her story with LLS:
How did you find out that Matthew had leukemia?
Matthew was diagnosed on December 11th, 2007, when he was two and a half years old. He hadn't been feeling well and our regular doctor thought he had a double ear infection. In fact he did have a double ear infection, but thankfully our doctor also had blood work done on Matthew, which ultimately determined that he had acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). It was devastating at the time, but in hindsight we were glad he was diagnosed early on.
Before Matthew's diagnosis, had you ever heard of leukemia?
To be honest, no -- but I learned very quickly. I also found a huge support group of people out there who are willing to help.
How has LLS been helpful to you and Matthew?
We participate in LLS's finanicial aid program and have also participated in The Light The Night Walk twice. Matthew was also recently named the 'Boy of the Year' for the local LLS chapter here on Long Island.
Your son has an amazing smile. He looks like he has a very positive outlook.
He does! When he was first diagnosed, going to see the doctors so often was difficult and I would try a number of things to make it a positive experience - like dressing up in costumes. Well now, Matthew actually looks forward to going! Once when we were on vacation in Disneyland, he surprised me with "Lets go to the clinic, Mom!" There we were, in the "happiest place on earth" and he wants to go to the clinic!
How is Matthew doing now?
Matthew's doing very well. He's in the second year of his treatment, which will continue through 2011. We are participating in a trial.
A clinical trial?
Yes, again, before Matthew had been diagnosed, I didn't realize how important clinical trials could be to treatment options. I found out as much as I could in advance, especially about the protocol that was suggested for Matthew. Now, I think of all of the people who participated in trials before us and I'm grateful. If they hadn't, I wonder where we'd be now. Thanks to previous trials and the people who participated in them, treatments have improved.
Have you participated in any previous Give & Get campaign?
We participated in both the spring and summer campaigns. A coupon was forwarded to me via email. The 30% discount is terrific and knowing 5% of the sale goes back to LLS - even better!
Now, when I know of a business, like Gap, that gives back to LLS -- I think, "They're doing this for research, they're doing this for cures, and they're doing this for my son." It makes me want to cry because I know the true benefit of this kind of support.
Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your story with us and allowing us to feature Matthew in this campaign.
]]>You can use these discount coupons and share them with your friends and families, at all Gap Inc stores - with 5% of your net purchases going to benefit LLS.
]]>You can use these discount coupons and share them with your friends and families, at all Gap Inc stores - with 5% of your net purchases going to benefit LLS.
Gap Inc stores include: Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. The coupons are for in-store purchases only.
Just print your coupon and go shopping. You can share the following link as widely as you wish, with all your friends and family. You can print more than one, if needed, to shop at a different Gap Inc store.
Click here to receive your Give & Get coupon.
Share the following link with your friends and family, so they can get their own! Simply copy this URL and pass it on.
It's a great way to save a little yourself, and feel good about it since you'll be helping LLS fight blood cancers and provide patient care.
]]>
_______________________
]]>_______________________
Taylor Carol was a typical 11-year-old boy, into sports and video games and all the normal activities of boys his age. But when he got hit by a pitch during a baseball game in March 2006, his world turned upside down. Follow up testing revealed something more ominous than an injured elbow – leukemia.
A diagnosis of Philadelphia positive acute lymphocytic leukemia, a particularly lethal form of the disease that does not respond to normal treatment, led the family to relocate to Seattle for a year so Taylor could receive a bone marrow transplant at Childrens Hospital.
During the long grueling months that Taylor was sequestered at the hospital fighting for his life, his father Jim Carol, CEO of Game 7 Entertainment Inc., began tinkering with an idea to match his expertise in designing software with his strong desire to help other children going through his son’s ordeal. The result was Pledgeplay, an innovative customizable online casual games and fundraising platform.
Today The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society launched Play2Cures (lls.play2cures.org)
which employs the Plegeplay platform and allows participants to play casual games online while donating money to help find cures for leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers.
It works by allowing players to purchase online tokens - $1 per token and a minimum of $10 - to play the games, such as solitaire and miniature golf. Each token purchased will help fund blood cancer research, provide critical information and support to patients and their families and help LLS advocate for issues impacting blood cancer patients. Players can play from a choice of six games. Tokens can be given to friends and family, and participants are encouraged to compete against each other for top scores.
Carol envisions Pledgeplay as a way for families to bond with one another while doing something positive for other families. Surveys reveal that more than 50 million U.S. adults enjoy playing family-friendly casual games online. According to a 2007 survey by Information Solutions Group, adults reported that playing online games provided an opportunity for them to bond with their children or grandchildren.
Carol’s son Taylor played a major role in Pledgeplay’s creation.
"For one year Taylor worked hard helping me start this company as our video game expert while he was hospitalized,” said Jim. “It was an awesome distraction and motivator. He was officially our VP of game evaluation.”
Taylor is also the patient honoree for Play2Cures, and a video telling his story can be viewed at the site.
“Helping to design this program was really fun and helped me get my mind off how terrible I was feeling most of the time,” says Taylor. “Now I hope other kids and their parents and grandparents can have as much fun playing the games as I had helping to create the site, and they can feel good knowing they’re helping kids just like me.”
“The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is excited about this opportunity to offer a unique fundraising program that lets participants have a great time playing skill games online and even engaging in friendly competition with one another, while also donating to lifesaving research,” said Nancy L. Klein, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer of LLS. “More children are impacted by leukemia than any other cancer. We’re sure that Play2Cures will appeal to parents and grandparents who are interested in helping children just like their own.”
___________________________
We're promoting this program mainly via social media like facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, along w/ game forums and some blog outreach. I invite you to take a look at LLS Play2Cures. My favorite game is Sudoku Save (and right now I have the high score - cryssteen)!
LLS Play2Cures: http://lls.play2cures.org
Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/LLS-Play2Cures-Play-Online-Games-To-Fi...
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/llsplay2cures
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=815BE9DF334E305D
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lls_play2cures
lls.org: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org//all_page.adp?item_id=533051
The inaugural Blogging for Blood Cancersevent,
taking place during the week of August 11th, is a great way to raise
awareness about the fight against blood cancers and to share your
story. If you write or contribute to a blog, you can be a part of it
too, and be entered to win some great prizes.
Friends of Heroes(which Lois is also a member of) is a national Light the Night Friends and Family Team.
It is comprised of moms, dads, families and friends compelled to help
find a cure for blood cancers. Friends of Heroes is the largest team of
this type in the country and, this year, hopes to reach the $1 million
mark in donations for this year’s Light The Night Walk.
Visit the event post for more information, banners for the event, and a list of prizes. And start blogging!
This post is from The Leikemia & Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Blog http://community.lls.org/blogs/ltn
]]>
Well, that changed the second I stepped into the blogher business conference this morning. You see, I didn't have a blog. Not a personal one anyway. I've been reading and "lurking" for years. I comment. I subscribe. I enjoy. I belong. But, apparently, my lack of commitment to actually joining the community renders me a little out of the loop.
So, I've sucked it up and I'm going to start to rant with the best of them. I mean, believe you me, I've never been considered a silent party in any aspect of my life. I'm extremely opinionated and totally in need of my own soap box. I just always thought of a blog in terms of readership and reach and scope and acceptance. But, being among so many talented, intelligent, professional women who embrace the power of personal blogging, I finally feel empowered.
Really, if I don't write every day, who cares? Maybe its my (Gen X) generation label talking, but I'm so fickle. When was the last time I'm stuck to anything new? How many diets have I started? My scale can't tell the difference. Gees, I can't even commit to flossing every day. But, we'll see.
Blogher is brilliant. I don't know if you're aware. But, it absolutely is. In my professional career, I find myself fighting for the benefits of social media day in and day out. I have to justify my interests, and measure my outcomes. Which, by all traditional business metrics, makes complete sense. But, even for just two days, it's amazing to be in an environment where women of all career levels get together to talk about it. To discuss the difficulties they have faced and the successes they can show for it. Women who just get it.
While it's not a rah rah session.. I'm a cheerleader in my own head. Thank God and Allah and Zeus and all of the other deities, I'm really happy to be a part of this now.
So, please welcome me and my blog of the blogless, for tomorrow at 8:30, when I enter that ball room for day two of blogher business, I will no longer be blogless.