The Young Philanthropist Award recognizes a next generation philanthropist (under 45) who has had significant impact on a nonprofit organization or a community project through their personal philanthropy efforts. Leah Slocum has done so by serving as a trustee on the board for the Upstate New York and Vermont chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), as well as being active on committees for a half-dozen local and national charities. Thank you Leah for all of your hard work, and we hope you continue to contribute to the community for many years to come! Congratulations!
Leah Slocum accepted the challenge of running for the 2014 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Man & Woman of the Year event in which she had 10 weeks to raise as many ‘votes’ as she was able. Inspired by the loss of her grandmother to Leukemia, Leah embraced the idea of this massive undertaking with an innate focus and drive-she assembled a well-organized team of friends, colleagues, and neighbors and led them in the organization of events, mailings, phone calls, and personal asks. Results were astonishing: Leah successfully raised over $92,000 for the LLS;she shattered all previous records, and claimed the title Woman of the Year.
Recently, Leah has created a partnership within RealtyUSA and her new team will direct a portion of their combined revenue to a pool which will be disbursed each quarter to charitable institutions-a unique structure that will not only provide financial support for those in need, but also introduce younger colleagues to the importance of philanthropy and community engagement.
Leah has served as a valuable role model, and inspiration to a future generation continuously. During her campaign, Leah met then-15 year old Dante who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma. The 6′ 4″ starting defensive end on the Schalmont varsity football team began an intense journey, one that has produced a wealth of new relationships and bonds. Leah’s record-setting fundraising and her resulting victory in helped inspire Dante, now 17, to run this year as a ‘Man of the Year’ candidate himself.
An estimated 1.12 million people are living in the United States with, or in remission from, leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma with an additional 156,000+ people expected to be diagnosed this year. Money raised by Leah and the LLS provide funding for research to cure blood cancers-the focus on cures has lead to the LLS funding nearly half of all cancer drugs approved by the FDA over the past 15 years.
Based in Albany, New York, The Stakeholders is a not-for-profit organization that inspires and equips people to take positive action in their communities. Stakeholders, Inc. is a New York State Regional Volunteer Center for an eight-county region, as well as an affiliate of the National Points of Light Institute.
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