Gilmour & Geauga Students Raise Funds for Leukemia, Lymphoma Research
It is so fulfilling and rewarding to know that my friends and I could come together to help try and make a difference within cancer research. – Sammi Hornyak
While area students raising money for blood cancer patients and research is an altruistic endeavor in and of itself, for West Geauga alumna Brinn MacLellan and her team, motivation hits on a more personal level.
The Gilmour Academy senior’s grandfather died of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, her grandmother died of lung cancer and on March 4, 2019, a close friend was diagnosed with leukemia.
“I call him my cousin a lot,” MacLellan said of her friend, Timmy Tusick. “He’s like family, one of those types of people. It’s been a crazy ride ever since. He is a really big part of this and basically my ‘why’ behind doing the campaign.”
MacLellan’s Team in the Arena — named after Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “The Man in the Arena” speech — comprises three Gilmour classmates, four students from West Geauga Schools and one from Kenston Schools. They are one of 27 groups in the area competing to raise funds for the Northern Ohio Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s 2021 Student of the Year campaign.
MacLellan said Tusick, who was chosen to be the campaign’s honored hero last summer, was 19 when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He was a student at Kent State University when he started having night sweats, nose bleeds and turning pale. Friends urged him to see the school nurse, who sent him to the ER.
“When he did end up going to the ER, they didn’t even know how he was alive anymore (from) his (blood) counts to the size of his spleen,” MacLellan said.
Tusick was told he would be unable to attend school for two and a half years and was exercise intolerant. He was back in the classroom half a year later and runs 5Ks, MacLellan said.
She said he lives by the words of William Ernest Henley’s poem, “Invictus.”
“It’s about not allowing anything to conquer you,” she said. “It was one of the first things he taught me. My bad days are (when) I feel like I have a lot of homework and family stuff, and then I see him and he literally has this disease eating away at his body and he is conquering every challenge in front of him.”
Tusick asked MacLellan to run the campaign. Having held a volleyball fundraiser for the Tusicks in October 2019, MacLellan said she did not have to look far for team members.
“When Brinn reached out to me, how could I say no? This is a great cause, not just to support Tim, but all those affected by cancer,” said West Geauga High School Senior Patrick Garrett, adding it has been an honor to be a part of the team and he hopes all their contributions make an impact in the future.
“A lot of them have a personal connection one way or another from losing a person,” MacLellan said of her group. “They are… doing it for me and for Timmy, because they got to meet him and he’s so inspirational. None of them wanted to pass up the opportunity.”
West Geauga Senior Sammi Hornyak said he was eager to raise money for LLS because blood cancer has not only affected his family, but others in his community, as well.
“It is so fulfilling and rewarding to know that my friends and I could come together to help try and make a difference within cancer research,” he said.
Team in the Arena has until Feb. 27 to reach their goal of $50,000.
Over the last decade, more than 40 percent of treatment and drugs for cancer was derived from LLS funded research, MacLellan said.
“The revolutionary approaches for blood cancer are now being tested in clinical trials with other cancers and diseases,” she said, adding if her team raises $50,000, they are able to link Tusick’s name with cutting edge LLS funded research, which “would be a really cool thing.”
Kenston High School Junior Claire Roch said during the past seven weeks, the team has been going out into the community to raise as much money as possible
“After doing this, I realized how much the people around me care about different organizations and LLS in specific,” she said. “I am so glad I joined Team in the Arena because now I further understand how a small donation can go such a long way.”
The group had wanted to do a dodgeball tournament and school dance, but the COVID-19 pandemic made the practicality difficult.
“So we made T-shirts that said, ‘fight together, finish strong’ on the back,” MacLellan said. “We’re selling wristbands right now that say ‘Tim Strong’ and then they say ‘Invictus.’ We also delivered letters to all our neighbors with a ribbon. We asked all our neighbors to tie a ribbon around their mailbox after donating to try to create some visual unity.”
They continue to sell wristbands and work Venmo, Facebook and Instagram for donations.
“Just knowing that I’m helping to save lives is the most amazing thing,” said West Geauga Junior Danny Stewart. “And I am doing this not only out of the kindness of my heart, but because cancer has affected my life personally, losing some of the closest people in my life.”
West Geauga Senior Harrison Wolfhope said the campaign has been an educational experience.
“I have learned a lot about what it means to help people with blood cancer illnesses,” he said. “It has also been an honor having a former patient, Tim, on our team who had showed us the hardships that these illnesses can bring. It is important to come together and be there for people who are struggling.”
Saturday morning is the last time people are able to donate unless they are registered for the Grand Finale, which will be hosted on Zoom and allow donations until 6 p.m. that day. For those registered, a silent auction on gift baskets is starting online Feb. 24 at noon. There’s a basket for everyone, from Yoga-themed to wine baskets, MacLellan said.
Anyone who has questions may contact MacLellan at 440-226-7962 or e-mail brinnmaclellan@gmail.com. Donations can be made at https://events.lls.org/noh/nohSOY21/bmaclellan.
