As educational leaders, we know one thing for sure: Our students are amazing! I am happy to say that another organization, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), knows this too. During the 2023–24 school year, a group of students at New Jersey’s Burlington City High School (BCHS) partnered with LLS’s student-led, philanthropic program, Student Visionaries of the Year, and made a lasting impact on our students, school, and community. Our students used their voices and agency toward advocacy, developing outstanding skills as they completed a seven-week fundraising campaign to help LLS in their mission to end blood cancers. 

Enthusiasm and togetherness were evident as our students, “Team Special Saints,” arrived at the campaign’s Opening Kickoff at the Subaru of America Headquarters in Camden, NJ. Our team was a little intimidated when they saw how much money other teams had raised the year before. Could a group of students from a small urban school hold their own in a national fundraising campaign? The answer was a resounding yes!   

Superintendent John Russell, James Flynn, NHS Adviser Alyssa Anderson, and the LLS Special Saints at the Student Visionaries Opening Kickoff, Subaru of America Headquarters in Camden, NJ. Photos courtesy of LLS. 

Team Special Saints not only helped raise over $16,000 for LLS, but they also helped to unify the students at Burlington City High School and staff throughout the district. The team prepared a variety of fundraisers, presented them to the BCHS administration, and followed up frequently. For one of the fundraisers, Superintendent John Russell, EdD, approved a seven-week Staff Dress Down during the LLS campaign with a $50 donation from interested staff. If your district is anything like ours, wearing jeans is at the top of our staff’s list of favorite incentives. Team Special Saints raised over $7,000 from what we called the Jeans Days Campaign.  

Our students were steadfast in their advocacy of LLS’s mission outside of our district, too. They sent letters, talked to our district partners, and sought out donations from local businesses. Two of our students, Yanaiah and Mary, met with State Senator Troy Singleton and Congressman Andy Kim’s office, presented to the Burlington City Rotary, and networked with the Greater Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Despite being one of the smaller schools in the Student Visionaries campaign, our team placed third in the 50 States Challenge, allowing them to potentially win a $500 donation—which they did!  

Yanaiah, left, and Mary, right, with LLS Adviser, Desiree, at the LLS Student Visionaries Grand Finale. 

And they didn’t stop there. The team’s passion and dedication during the final countdown of the campaign netted them a limousine ride to the Grand Finale Gala at The Merion, one of South Jersey’s most elegant settings for events and celebrations. At the Grand Finale, our team was awarded the Policy and Advocacy Mission Pillar Award.  

Expanding Their Impact 

I witnessed firsthand how our students embraced a challenge outside of their comfort zone, showing tremendous leadership and personal growth along the way. They were engaged, involved citizens using their voices to advance a cause that mattered to them. Reflecting on their hard work, Yanaiah said it best, “Back in the summer, when Mary and I met with our LLS Adviser, we were shy.” Throughout the campaign, I noticed changes in both of us. I know I have gotten a lot better at public speaking.” Mary agreed, adding, “We grew as leaders and taught our team members what we learned from Desiree, our LLS adviser: how to have a conversation with family members and businesspeople and make a big ask. Let’s be honest, asking anyone for money is not an easy task, and we were able to do that pretty successfully.”  

The LLS Student Visionaries Program is one of the most effective educational partnerships I have experienced in terms of the benefits to students, school communities, and outside organizations. Along with dedicated students, the key to success is to have an adult adviser or liaison work with the Student Visionaries team and LLS staff. Our National Honor Society Adviser, Alyssa Anderson, was that person. The student council or Key Club adviser are also good matches for this role. I highly encourage you to reach out to LLS to learn more about partnering with them for the 2024–25 school year. You’ll see your students make a positive difference in your school and in the lives of people impacted by blood cancer. 

To learn more about the Student Visionaries of the Year program, visit LLS.org/Students


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About the Author

James Flynn, EdD, is the director of planning/research and evaluation, operations, and state and federal programs at Burlington City Public Schools in Burlington, NJ. 

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