Photo by Erin Nelson.
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Ainsley Eckhoff, 15, a freshman at Mountain Brook High School, and Tripp Law, 17, a senior, are seen at the Emmett O’Neal Library on Dec. 12. Eckhoff and Law are competing against each other to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Ainsley Eckhoff and Tripp Law are no ordinary Mountain Brook students.
While having schoolwork and other things to worry about, these two students have taken on an even bigger responsibility by raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Eckhoff, a 15-year-old freshman at Mountain Brook Junior High, and Law, a 17-year-old senior at Mountain Brook High School, have been nominated as the LLS Student of the Year.
Eckhoff said it’s great to see how her efforts help people fighting cancer.
“It’s really important to see how cancer affects others,” she said. “I can see how [raising money for LLS] supports children and families fighting cancer. It’s amazing to see how everyone is affected.”
Law said it was his time to start helping out the community.
“I have never done much to give back to my community, and when I was nominated for Student of the Year, I knew it was my time to give back to something that really does matter,” he said.
Students are nominated for the program by teachers and other community leaders who examined a multitude of factors, including grades, achievement and compassion. Once the students are selected, the LLS talks to them and their parents to ensure mutual compatibility.
Once the student has decided to participate, LLS teaches them presentation, marketing and general fundraising skills to prepare them for the competition. The competition started in mid-January and ends March 13, with the winners announced at a gala.
As participants, student teams go to businesses and pitch the idea of donating money to LLS. Each student team raises money in honor of a young patient who is battling or in remission from blood cancer. Each dollar donated is counted as a point for the contestant, and the student with the most points at the end of the seven weeks wins Student of the Year.
Law said raising money for LLS has impacted him greatly.
“This project has changed my way in life because I have realized it is not impossible to raise a large amount of money for a good cause,” he said. “It has also taught me how to be a leader and how to push and work very hard even when you do not get the answer you want to hear.”
Eckhoff has a personal reason for raising money for LLS. She said her family has struggled with cancer, but her sister Demi, who has multiple sclerosis, is why she became more involved. After seeing the hope her sister has, Ainsley wanted to give hope to other people dealing with illnesses.
She said the program has taught her that now is the time to fight cancer.
“This has been really great for marketing and management for me,” she said. “But now it’s our generation’s time to take control of cancer.”
People who want to help Ainsley and Tripp raise money for the fight against cancer can visit https://events.lls.org/al/bhamsoy20/aeckhoff to donate to Ainsley’s page or visit https://events.lls.org/al/bhamsoy20/tlawop to donate to Tripp’s page. You can start donating Jan. 23, and all donations go toward cancer research and supporting cancer patients.
