The 6^th annual Students of the Year campaign wrapped up last night with a Grand Finale Celebration at Savannah Station. The event celebrated the hard work of eleven student teams, comprised of 28 students from seven different schools. Collectively they raised $515,787 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) mission to find a cure for blood cancer and provide support to patients and their families.

Every dollar the candidates raised counted as one “vote” and the candidates with the most votes were awarded the title Students of the Year. Team Swarming Cancer, led by Savannah Country Day School sophomores, Hayden Anderson, John Avino and William Whitfield, earned the title of Students of the Year by raising $164,615. Team Swarming Cancer broke all Man, Woman and Students of the Year records for the total amount raised in Savannah! The Runner Up was team In It To End It led by Savannah Country Day School juniors, Banks Bradley and Gracie Daters. Team In It To End It raised $124,462. All the candidates competed in honor of LLS’s Boy & Girl of the Year, Eli and Aurora, local children who are blood cancer survivors and sources of inspiration to others. 

“This will be the generation to see the end of cancer. The impact these students are making in the fight against cancer is remarkable. Not only have they continued to raise awareness for the LLS mission, they have broken records once again this year in how much they raised. We are so proud of their dedication and accomplishments. This generous Savannah community has helped us reach a cumulative total of over $2 million in the past six years,” said Jennie Brewster, Campaign Development Director for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Georgia/South Carolina Region.

In addition, Citizenship Awards were presented to those candidates who incorporated the LLS mission into their campaign and went above and beyond to engage their community. The Volunteerism Award was earned by Team Blood Busters, led by Stella Utley of St. Vincent’s Academy and Lula Tollison of Savannah Arts Academy. The Community Involvement Award was presented to Team In It To End It, led by Banks Bradley and Gracie Daters from Savannah Country Day School. The Mission Integration Award was earned by Team Swarming Cancer, led by Savannah Country Day School students Hayden Anderson, John Avino and William Whitfield. Students of the Year Team Member of the Year went to Edie Levit, Team In It To End It.

The candidates were selected by a Leadership Team chaired by Melissa Neil. To learn more about the campaign or nominate a student for 2023, go to www.studentsoftheyear.org