Linda Filipczak (right), fund development officer at Karmanos, with Carl Pesta, D.O. (left), a bariatric surgeon at McLaren Macomb. Linda is nominated for LLS Woman of the Year, while Pesta is nominated for LLS Man of the Year. Photo Courtesy of BeMe Photo LLC.
Every year, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) encourages men and women impacted by blood cancer to run for the position of Man and Woman of the Year. Linda Filipczak, fund development officer at Karmanos, has been nominated for this year’s LLS Woman of the Year.
Candidates form powerful fundraising teams and compete in honor of two local children who are blood cancer survivors. The man and woman who raise the most funds during the ten-week campaign are awarded the prestigious title of Man or Woman of the Year in their community. The man and woman who have raised the most across the entire U.S. are recognized as the national Man and Woman of the Year.
To be nominated, a person who has done a great deal for the field of blood cancer must be brought to the attention of the LLS board. From there, that person is contacted and asked to consider campaigning. The campaign is a philanthropic competition to support blood cancer research among a group of motivated and dedicated individuals in communities across the United States.
When Filipczak received the nomination, she agreed.
The goal of the campaign is to raise money for blood cancer research through a ten-week period of fundraising. After accepting the nomination to run, Filipczak kicked off her campaign on February 21. Her team’s name for the campaign is Re$earch4theCURE, and they’ve set the goal of raising $25,000 by May 4.
Filipczak has been personally touched by cancer. Having worked as an oncology nurse for the past 30 years, all of her oncology patients have made an impact on her life. That is the reason she accepted the nomination — she wants to make a difference.
“It’s not about me,” she said. “It’s about the patients, really. I work at Karmanos because making a difference in the lives of cancer patients is very important to me.”
The money raised through Filipczak’s campaign would provide funding for her research on blood cancers. She wants to raise as much money as possible for clinical research of these diseases — becoming the LLS Woman of the Year is just a bonus.
Filipczak said that getting the title of LLS Woman of the Year, which is given to the candidate who raises the most money, would mean that she was able to get important dollars for research.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.
To learn more about Linda Filipczak’s LLS Woman of the Year Campaign, please visit her fundraising page here.