A group of 15 Shaker High School students are being recognized as the May North Colonie Kids Care recipients for their efforts to raise money through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign. Over seven weeks this winter, these 15 students raised $111,114!
Juniors Joelle Hannoush and Yirou Kao served as captains of Team “Fight2Cure” and were joined by senior Catherine Cheng and juniors Hannah Nune, Michael Green and Renat Gosmanov. This team finished as runner-up in the competition, raising $88,399 in that seven week period. They ran a lacrosse clinic at Afrim’s where they not only taught the sport to young students, but also stressed the importance of philanthropy and giving back to the community.
The second team, “Hope Raisers,” was captained by juniors Cristiano Logrippo, Fynn Sarfoh and Kwame Boakye and joined by fellow juniors Anthony Tleiji, Aydan Shahbazli, Madison Turcotte, Patrick Guana, Rosa Tropiano and Shradha Thapa. They hosted pickleball and cornhole tournaments, ran a pancake breakfast and even presented as a team to Meliora Law in Delmar.
This group of deserving students was nominated by Taft Hall Principal Mr. Brian Spofford and Mrs. Felicia Hunter. Ms. Katy Muller managed the Student Visionaries of the Year campaign in Upstate New York for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and spoke fondly of their efforts. “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is incredibly proud to recognize these exceptional students for their leadership, passion, and dedication to making a difference. Through their efforts in the Student Visionaries of the Year campaign, they have not only raised critical funds to fight blood cancers, but have also brought hope to countless patients and families. Their commitment represents the very best of what young people can achieve when they rally behind a cause bigger than themselves. To put it in perspective, with their combined fundraising totals, this group of students has raised enough money to pay for more than one year of CAR-T Cell Therapy research!” said Muller.
Congratulations to all of our Kids Care honorees and thank you for the extraordinary effort you put into your fundraising campaigns which will help so many of our community members moving forward. As Mrs. Hunter said in your nomination, your efforts to raise both awareness and money is a testament to the fact that you all are truly the best representatives of Kids That Care in North Colonie!