The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society SWFL Advisory Council Announces Oct. 24, 2015 Light The Night Walk

FORT MYERS, Fla. - April 24, 2015 - PRLog -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society SWFL Advisory Council Announces

October 24, 2015 for Its Annual Light The Night Walk Event

Fort Myers, FL – April 22, 2015 – Every three minutes someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer.  More than 1.2 million Americans are living with, or in remission from, these diseases. Certain forms of these diseases are the most common types of cancer in children and adolescents younger than 20 years. Almost 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with these cancers this year. There are few, if any means of preventing or early screening for these cancers.

Charlotte, Collier, Hendry and Lee counties are home to many of the newly diagnosed blood cancer patients who seek access to treatments and information about the latest blood cancer research. Since 1999, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has held Light The Night Walks in almost 200 cities across the country with the goal to raise funds for its mission and pay tribute to those lost to blood cancers and honor those who are survivors.

The LLS Southwest Florida Advisory Council is kicking-off its annual Light the Night Walk fundraising event in Southwest Florida with the goal to raise money for research and educate the public about blood cancers. This year’s fundraising event will be held on Saturday, October 24, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Centennial Park along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers.  To register for this event, visit http://www.lightthenight.org/register/.

"Walking in the Light The Night Walk, with thousands of people carrying lanterns, you can't help but feel the support.  To have all those people out there, together, holding lanterns, nobody there is alone," said Steven F Belcher, LLS SWFL Advisory Committee Chair and principal and financial advisor of Belcher & Company in Fort Myers, FL.  "I know it’s The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's hope that every year there are fewer gold lanterns (commemorating those lost to the disease).  Your lantern will make a difference.  It will be a little brighter on that night because you and the team you created brought your lanterns. Start a team. Join a team."

LLS's Light The Night walks have raised more than $495 million since they began 16 years ago, and have helped LLS invest more than $1 billion in research to advance lifesaving treatments for people with blood cancers.

Friends, families and co-workers form fundraising teams and millions of consumers help by donating at retail outlets. These efforts culminate in inspirational, memorable evening walks in nearly 200 communities across North America each fall. Participants carry illuminated lanterns - white for survivors, red for supporters and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer. Anyone big, small, young and old can shine a light on the importance of finding cures and ensuring access to treatments for blood cancer patients.

Today, LLS is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers. Through its efforts it has invested more than $1 billion in cutting-edge research to advance therapies. Thanks to research, survival rates for patients with many blood cancers have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled since the early 1960s. Yet, despite these advances, about one third of patients with blood cancer still do not survive even five years after their diagnosis.

The LLS Southwest Florida Advisory Council is comprised of long time business and community leaders who are actively involved in the future of Southwest Florida including:

·       Steven F Belcher, Principal and Financial Advisor, Belcher & Company, Fort Myers, FL

·       Jennifer Alvarez, Branch Manager, Amtrust Bank, a division of New York Community Bank, Coconut       Point Mall, Estero, FL

·       Beth Oliver, Director of Marketing, Ltd, Inc.,  Offshore Sailing School, Ltd., Inc., Fort Myers, FL

·       Pete E Cento, Principal & Founder, Wild Cats Enterprises, Inc., Naples, FL

·       Dawn Parker, Vice-President, Marker 5 Financial Services, Fort Myers, FL

·       Angie Marsh, Vice-President, Marker 5 Financial Services, Fort Myers, FL

·       Amber Cebull, Inbound Marketing Consultant, WSS Marketing, Fort Myers, FL

·       Ali Olivo, Council Indirect Taxes, General Electric Company

Serving as staff liaisons between the Chapter and the Southwest Florida Advisory Council is Seth Berkowitz, Senior Manager of Patient Access. The Southern Florida & Puerto Rico Chapter has been providing patient support and informational programs in the region for more than 30 years and provides local events to support our research, advocacy and information programs.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, 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 6 p.m. ET.


Media Contact:
Steven F. Belcher
(239) 939-6069 (direct)
sbelcher@ft.NewYorkLife.com