Cancer is disruptive at any point in one’s life, but especially so if the diagnosis comes in your 20s or 30s when you may be trying to create an independent life, work towards school or career goals, and find a partner. Many young people look forward to starting a family, while others spend time with friends and enjoy not having such heavy responsibilities. A diagnosis can be a serious disruption and leave you searching for ways to create the life you want.You hope that once treatment is over, you can go back to your “normal” life. Unfortunately, it is much more common to find that the end of treatment is actually a beginning as you navigate the physical, emotional and practical adjustments to life after cancer.
Volunteering for LLS is this survivor's way of giving back
Three or four days a week for the past five years, Dorothy Spriggs has been showing up for work at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Maryland chapter. However, instead of a paycheck, she is earning the satisfaction of knowing she is doing her part to give back and helping others with blood cancer.
At age 73, the Baltimore woman known as “Ms. Dotti” has no plans to stop. She’s enjoying it way too much.
“It’s the joy of being able to give back in a small way,” she said. “When I look at what the staff do, it amazes me. What I do is kind of small compared to them.”
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has officially tallied up the votes for the 2016 Light The Night t-shirt contest submissions, and the winning design comes from 37-year-old Joshua Redmond of Centerville, Ohio.
A graduate of Ohio University’s School of Fine Art, Redmond earned his degree in graphic design and printmaking and has been working professionally in the industry for over a decade.
For the past two years, he’s been mastering his hand-lettering techniques, which he used to design the winning logo. When asked about the creative process behind his t-shirt design, Redmond said, “The night sky was the real inspiration behind the piece."
Several of Redmond’s co-workers at Naked Lime – a marketing consulting firm in Ohio – have had friends and family members directly affected by LLS. In fact, many of the designers there have participated in the Light The Night t-shirt contest before.
When Redmond learned he was the 2016 winner, he was excited to be part of the cause.
“I'm a huge believer that with enough people getting behind a cause, a difference can truly be made. So anytime that I can use my God-given talents to help out an organization like LLS, I'm am happy to do so.”
To obtain your own shirt, register for your local Light The Night Walk here and become a champion of cures by raising more than $100.
