In 2013, resident Alec Kazandjian was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 9. However, his thoughts weren’t on his diagnosis, but on other kids undergoing treatment with him. Alec began raising money for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia child life program and participated in the American Cancer Society Bike-a-thon and Parkway Run 5K.
Alec’s father Hakop participated in the fundraisers with his son. So when Hakop was nominated for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s 2015 Man and Woman of the Year fundraising campaign, he immediately jumped at the chance to participate. He knew if Alec could support others while battling leukemia, he could as well.
“Seeing what (Alec) was capable of doing and seeing that he wanted to make a big difference, that’s a motivational factor,” Kazandjian said.
Each year, a small group of candidates are nominated to raise funds going to support LLS research, patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services. Kazandjian learned about the nomination through a friend and was excited to participate. Some of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s funding goes toward programs at Children’s Hospital.
“The Leukemia Society has funded the programs that CHOP is doing,” Kazandjian said. “The cause is near and dear to my heart.”
Fundraising officially began on March 31 and will culminate at a Grand Finale Gala in Philadelphia on June 13. In between, all the candidates are encouraged to raise as much money as possible for LLS.
“Basically, we set a goal,” Kazandjian said. “Our goal is to reach $50,000. If we do that, we have some say in which portfolios the money we raise gets the money from it. It’ll be a good thing for us, we’ll ask it to go toward research in childhood leukemia.”
Kazandjian quickly realized he wasn’t going to be able to raise $50,000 on his own. One of the first things he did upon his nomination was he began contacting as many friends, relatives and supporters he could.
“We’ve sent out emails and I’ve gotten a group for my team itself with this campaign. It’s a lot to do to raise a lot of money,” he said.
The constant stream of emails has helped lead to a series of events being organized. Kazandjian volunteers as a coach for Mt. Laurel Basketball and is planning to hold a fundraiser tournament in June at Springville Elementary School. A number of his friends are also organizing events, from a kickboxing fundraiser at AmeriKick in Medford to a fundraiser in Maryland.
“I’ve reached out to everybody,” Kazandjian said. “It’s a large undertaking.”
Kazandjian described the fundraiser truly as a team effort. His wife Janet has helped with contacting people. All of Kazandjian’s three sons, Alec, Shant and Zavan, are also excited to participate. Alec plans to be involved even as he continues to undergo leukemia treatments.
“They’re all on board too,” Kazandjian said. (Alec)’s helping with all of this stuff, too.”
Community members can donate to Kazandjian’s campaign online up until June 13 at www.mwoy.org//pages/epa/philly15/hkazandjia.
