CruzHacks Winner Fundraises to Cure Cancer
BigBen Team (middle schoolers!!!!) and Santa Cruz Works (Doug Erickson, Adrian Dolatschko, Tom Padula, and Emma McLaren)
Kierra Wang
In 2020, a team of middle-school coders made their debut at CruzHacks 2020 and the SCWorks New Tech event with their BigBen project teaching financial literacy to children. Now in 2023, 16-year-old Kierra Wang, a member of this winning team, has continued her trailblazing mindset as a nominee for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year campaign. She has formed a multi-generational team of passionate advocates who believe in the LLS mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
LLS funds research that works to produce blood cancer treatments – such as chemotherapy, radiation, and stem cell transplants – many of which are applicable to other types of cancers and autoimmune diseases. Kierra has personally seen the impacts of illnesses, and even some of her close family members have survived as a result of these treatments. So, she is raising money to support LLS because their work doesn't just impact blood cancer patients, but all cancer patients. She is raising money in the hopes that one day no one will have to grow up without the ones they love.
Kierra’s amazing family!
With an $85,000 fundraising goal by April 14th, every dollar counts. Even $200 will fund lab supplies for blood cancer researchers for an entire week!
If you would like to support the cause, all donations are fully tax deductible and can be made online using the following link: https://events.lls.org/calso/southbay/kwangi. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
You Can Help
If you would like to do more, feel free to help through:
• Sponsoring the campaign! Your company could receive various partnership recognitions and benefits – reach out to kierrawang29@gmail.com for more information :)
• Donating items or experiences for auction! In the Grand Finale Gala, LLS will be setting up auctionable products from VIP game tickets to meet-and-greets with celebrities.
• Matching charitable gifts! If your company can match charitable gifts, your donation will go even further to this amazing cause!
Thank you so much for your time and support for Kierra’s campaign. Let’s make a difference.