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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD – Indian American high school sophomores Samir Shah and Saar Shah of Maryland will be holding a Kite Festival in Leonardtown at the Fairgrounds in Montgomery County, Maryland, on March 17 to raise money for their campaign Fly4aCure under the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
The Shahs have taken part in LLS’s Students of the Year competition, a seven-week fundraising competition for high school students and currently have over 20 team members from local schools in Maryland.
Their goal is to raise $200,000 with $100,000 from personal donations and $100,000 in corporate sponsorship.
The Shahs live in St. Mary’s County, which has population of 111,000 residents. An estimated 500 people are battling a type of blood cancer, the most common types being leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and Hodgkin’s disease.
According to LLS, blood cancers, on average, account for more than 10 percent of all new cancer cases diagnosed each year—and they’re the third leading cancer killer in the country.
LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer research.
While there is no way to prevent blood cancers, LLS is dedicated to finding a cure by relying on donations to fund research projects.
Each year, LLS hosts a Student of the Year fundraising competition, designed for high school students to compete in raising the most money for LLS.
The Shahs hope the kite festival draws a large crowd of about 2,000 visitors so they can make it an annual event.