The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Greater Bay Area Chapter

Fiscal Year Report July 2016 – June 2017

leading the way to cancer cures

Dear Friends, It was 1966 when Spider Cantley held his first “Labor Against Leukemia” campaign, raising $25,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in memory of his mother, whom he had lost to leukemia. Back then, blood cancer was fatal, but Spider believed a cure could be found. Driven by this belief and his grief over the loss of his mother, he set out on what would become a 50-year journey in support of our mission. Since then, blood cancer treatments have improved dramatically. Today, a child diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia has a 90% chance of reaching long-term survival. Across the spectrum of blood cancers, survival rates have doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled. Remarkably, Spider has been with us every step of the way. For more than 30 years, he ran a 24-hour Radiothon that once raised $700,000 in a single day, and he continues to organize a letter-writing campaign every spring. To date, he has raised over $18 million for LLS. In 2016, Spider was presented with the Ruby Partners Against Blood Cancer Award, honoring his longstanding dedication to LLS. Just weeks after announcing Spider’s award, LLS made another exciting announcement – the launch of our Beat AML Master Trial. Despite advances in treatment for other blood cancers, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment has been static for 40 years. LLS is determined to change that through the Master Trial, a collaborative effort that matches patients to novel treatments based on their genetic profile. With Beat AML, we are changing the way AML is treated by moving away from the current one-size-fits-all approach that does not work for so many. The Beat AML Master Trial, and all LLS-funded research, is only possible thanks to you, our LLS supporters. In this booklet, you will see a glimpse of the exciting successes we had last year. We hope you are inspired by what you read. Your partnership with LLS is deeply appreciated, and we would be honored to count you among our supporters once again in the year ahead. Gratefully,

Kathleen Moore Lois Markovich Executive Director Board President Greater Bay Area Chapter Greater Bay Area Chapter

Spider Cantley with Lois Markovich, LLS Greater Bay Area Board President

Local Projects: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is dedicated to funding the most promising blood cancer research around the world, including an investment of over five million dollars in grants right here in the Bay Area during the 2017 fiscal year. With that investment, we proudly funded 17 scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford. These researchers are performing groundbreaking investigations across the spectrum of blood cancers.

Research Success: The 2017 fiscal year was a year of promising progress in treatments for blood cancer patients. Thanks to the generosity of forward-thinking LLS supporters, we now know more than ever about what causes blood cancers to form. We have been able to launch partnerships with biotechnology companies and government agencies that bring new therapies to more patients, faster. And with your ongoing partnership, we continue our pursuit of a world without blood cancers.

LLS-funded researchers can now create cancer-fighting “super-cells” that kill

off cancer without damaging a

patient’s healthy cells.

This year, LLS committed four

million dollars to a Bay Area company that is harnessing the power of the

body’s own immune system to fight lymphoma.

Research

Patient Access, Education and Advocacy

Advocacy The California advocacy

committee focused on passing meaningful legislation for blood cancer patients and visiting with their state and federal representatives on a consistent basis.

Blood cancer patients and caregivers from throughout California visited Washington, D.C. to meet with their representatives, discuss their needs and advocate on behalf of all blood cancer patients.

All patient support services and educational resources are offered free of charge.

Patient Support We reached 502 new patients affected by blood cancer; 68 of these

patients were reached within 90 days of diagnosis. Through our Travel Assistance program, we provided 57 patients

with a $500 stipend. Additionally, we provided almost $450,000 to local patients for Co-Pay Assistance.

Locally, we host seven monthly support group meetings. Each support group is facilitated by a licensed nurse or social worker.

We connected 43 patients with a First Connections match for personalized, one-on-one peer support.

Patient & Professional Education Over 650 patients, caregivers

and healthcare professionals attended our 2017 Blood Cancer Conference.

Over 45 families attended our first-ever Childhood Cancer Symposium in September 2016.

In total, we provided education services to 755 patients & caregivers.

LLS advocates in action on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

2017 Blood Cancer Conference Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jerry Lee of the White House Moonshot Task Force

Light The Night Light The Night is an evening to pay tribute to lives lost to cancer and to bring help and hope to blood cancer patients and families. The Greater Bay Area Chapter hosts four Light The Night events: San Francisco, East Bay (Walnut Creek), North Bay (Santa Rosa), and Napa Valley. Last year, Bay Area Light The Night teams of friends, families and co-workers raised over $2.4 million for our mission!

Salesforce HQ was our top fundraising corporate team. Nationally, Salesforce teams raised over one million dollars, which was generously matched by their CEO, Marc Benioff.

Fight on Trent was our top Friends & Family team, raising over $47,000 in honor of AML patient and father-of-three Trent Jackson.

Campaigns

Robert Covay led the first-ever TNT “Climb 2 Cure” team. These amazing Bay Area LLS supporters climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in March and raised $33,000 for LLS.

Ninety teammates from the Bay Area rode America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride with TNT, raising over $337,000 for our mission. Joining them was Dr. Lou DeGennaro, LLS CEO and first-time TNT teammate.

Through Team In Training (TNT), the world’s largest endurance sports training program for charity, over 450 teammates in the Greater Bay

Area raised nearly one million dollars during the 2017 fiscal year.

Team In Training

Students of the Year Students of the Year (SOY) is a philanthropic leadership opportunity. Local high school students compete in a seven-week fundraising competition in honor of local blood cancer survivors, the Boy & Girl of the Year. In 2017, the Greater Bay Area held two SOY campaigns, one in the North Bay and one in San Francisco. Between the two campaigns, 12 SOY candidates raised $37,000.

2017 San Francisco Student of the Year: Maya Solwren, pictured with her sister Nomi, the Girl of the Year

2017 North Bay Students of the Year: Bea Dinsmore & Emily Baumsteiger

Pennies for Patients Through Pennies for Patients, students in kindergarten through high school collect change in their classrooms and communities in honor of local honored heroes from their school or town. This year, more than 350 schools in the Bay Area participated in Pennies for Patients, raising over $572,000!

Students and staff from Stratford School—Fremont kissed a cow to celebrate raising $39,000 through Pennies for Patients. Stratford was the #2 fundraising school in the country as well as the #1 per capita fundraising school, with an average of over $92 raised by each student!

Man & Woman of the Year Man & Woman of the Year (MWOY) candidates are dynamic community leaders who conduct 10-week fundraising campaigns in honor of local blood cancer survivors, the Boy & Girl of the Year. In 2017, our six MWOY candidates raised a total of $860,000.

2017 Man of the Year: Ben Shapiro 2017 Woman of the Year: Lois Markovich

2017 All Star Candidate: Brianna Haag

Brianna, 2012 Greater Bay Area Woman of the Year, returned this year as an All Star candidate, competing against MWOY alumni from across the nation. Brianna was the top fundraising All Star nationwide, earning the title 2017 National All Star Woman of the Year.

Leukemia Cup Regatta The Leukemia Cup Regatta is a thrilling sailing event that combines the joy of boating with the important task of raising money to cure cancer. Last year, Regatta raised $684,000 to be the top fundraising regatta in the country for the tenth consecutive year.

Team Chance, led by Regatta Committee Co-Chair Stan Hales, was the top fundraising team of 2016.

LLS supporters paddled their way to a cure during our first-ever SUP Cup event, a stand up paddle board race in Tiburon, CA.

Greater Bay Area Chapter 101 Montgomery Street, Suite 750 San Francisco, CA 94104 www.LLS.org/GBA www.facebook.com/LLSGBA