Rye Brook, NY (June 1, 2017) – For the second year in a row, Subaru of America and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) will spread love, hope and warmth to cancer patients and their families in communities across the country. The 2016 Subaru Loves to Care initiative, a charitable arm of the Subaru Love Promise, allowed LLS and Subaru to reach 30,000 patients in more than 250 hospitals through 393 Subaru retailers. This year, LLS and Subaru aim to reach even more patients with small gestures of comfort and care in their time of need.
“We created the Subaru Love Promise because we believe in making the world a better place. It is our vision to show love and respect to all people,” said Alan Bethke, senior vice president of marketing at Subaru of America. “We should all have a chance to lead a healthy life. We’re aiming to give as many people that chance as we can and are proud to team up with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for our Subaru Loves to Care initiative, to help provide care and support to patients and their families while battling cancer.”
Where Love Meets Hope
This June, Subaru and LLS are bringing the Subaru Loves to Care initiative to life at 475 Subaru retailers across the country. Visitors to Subaru retailers will be given the chance to share personalized messages of hope to patients in their local communities, or write an online message of support at www.lls.org/subaru. Those who write a message of hope at a Subaru retailer will also receive a bracelet to help spread awareness of LLS and the automaker’s goal to provide hope and care, one gesture at a time.
At the end of June, Subaru retailers will deliver nearly 95,000 messages of hope to patients alongside 38,000 blankets to provide comfort and warmth as they continue their fight against cancer, while children battling the disease will receive arts and crafts kits.
LLS will be featuring inspiring stories and photographs of survivors and patients in communities across the country who will receive blankets or arts and crafts kits on www.lls.org/subaru. The stories are an inspiration and a reminder of the good the Subaru Loves to Care program brings to the thousands of patients nationwide. LLS will spread messages of hope, love, and warmth to those fighting cancer, one such survivor is Finley.
A week after Finley’s fifth birthday, her mom took her to the doctor’s office to check on what she thought was a bad case of strep throat and a high fever. Finley was sent to the hospital to undergo further testing, including an x-ray and biopsy. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
For the week after Finley’s diagnosis, she remained in the hospital and started chemotherapy. Over the following months, she underwent multiple tests and countless hospital visits, many including overnight stays. The side effects of her treatment would be unbearable for most, but Finley pulled through and amazed everyone with her bravery.
In June 2016, Finley was officially in remission. She currently takes her medication at home and visits the hospital once a month for maintenance checkups. Today, Finley enjoys playing baseball, reading and crafts, and loves the outdoors. She is a huge fan of superheroes and even had a superhero cake for her birthday. As her parents said, “Finley is our real life superhero.”
According to LLS President and CEO Dr. Louis J. DeGennaro, “As the largest voluntary cancer health agency specifically focused on finding cures and treatments for blood cancer patients, LLS supports hundreds of cancer scientists and research projects around the world. But the fight against blood cancers cannot be won without supporters such as Subaru and their customers. Every voice, every action, every contribution is needed and valued.”
You can show your support too! Visit a participating retailer to sign a hope card, or visit www.lls.org/subaru to write an online message of support and learn more about LLS's mission and impact, and how to help Subaru and LLS make someday, today, for blood cancer patients.
Watch to learn more: https://youtu.be/ZXb4ws-RF1k
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.
Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
For additional information visit lls.org/lls-newsnetwork. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
For LLS Contact:
Kristin Hoose
914.821.8973
For Subaru Contact:
Diane Anton
856.488.5093
