The Story of Little Ones and Their Fight and What Big Ones are Doing to Help

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is teaming up once again with Stater Bros. Charities for the seventh year of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Light The Night” fundraising campaign to raise awareness and funds for the fight against Leukemia, Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Myeloma and Myelodysplastic Syndromes. Last year, “Light The Night” raised $331,462 by selling $1 paper balloons at registers in Stater Bros. Supermarkets throughout Southern California. The campaign has raised over $1.8 million for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since it launched in 2008. With a goal of raising at least $325,000 between June 4th – June 15th, the campaign is expected, once again, to make a big impact on support for programs and services administered by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The funds raised during the campaign directly benefit Southern California communities in the form of educational programs, family support groups and informational sessions for healthcare professionals to discuss the disease and ways to find a cure. “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is extremely grateful to Stater Bros., its employees and customers who are helping to make a difference in the lives of so many patients and their families through this initiative,” said John Walter, LLS President and CEO. “Stater Bros. has raised more than $1.8 million since they started participating in the fundraising campaign, and that incredible effort is going a long way toward helping LLS advance its mission.” “The Stater Bros. ‘Family’ has a long history of giving back to our friends and neighbors in the communities we are privileged to serve,” stated Jack H. Brown, Chairman and CEO of Stater Bros. Markets. “We are especially pleased to be able to host this very successful paper mobile program in all our stores.” This year’s campaign will feature local patients/survivors whose inspiring stories will be on display at Stater Bros. Supermarkets. San Bernardino County, Kayla Rowland, Age 14, Leukemia Patient One month before her 14th birthday, Kayla was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Since that time, Kayla has been hospitalized on many occasions, spending days to weeks in the Children’s Oncology unit of Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital receiving treatments. Riverside County, Cameron Olivia Strobel, Age 5, Leukemia Patient Cameron is a beautiful 5-year-old warrior currently battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She was diagnosed on February 22, 2012, had her last treatment on April 26, 2014, and is currently in the maintenance stage. Orange County, Audrey Stubblefield, Age 3, Leukemia Patient In May 2013, at 20 months of age, Audrey was diagnosed with Philadelphia Chromosome Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (PH+ALL). Since her diagnosis, Audrey has been receiving wonderful care at Children's Hospital Orange County (CHOC). Los Angeles County, Nathaniel Loomis, Age 5, Leukemia Survivor At only 2 years old, Nathaniel was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was admitted into the pediatric intensive care unit. Today, Nathaniel is 5-years-old, and he has recently completed his final chemotherapy treatment and had his port removed. San Diego County, Rina Sy, Age 6, Leukemia Survivor Rina Sy (aka 'Resilient Rina') is a 6-year old girl from San Diego, who in May 2013 was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia – Philadelphia Chromosome. Rina underwent a bone marrow transplant after discovering that her brother Patrick was a perfect marrow sibling match. Kern County, Lucas Tate, Age 4, Leukemia Survivor For the Tate family, Father's Day 2009 will forever be remembered as the day their 7-month-old baby boy, Lucas was diagnosed with leukemia. Today, Lucas is a healthy, thriving four-and-a-half year old. He is active and bears no memory of the time that he faced cancer and won.