MaryJo Robinson’s ‘Team Fighting 4 A Cure’ Wins LLS Mission Award

For the ten weeks between April 1 and June 13, 2009, Ashburn resident MaryJo Robinson and four friends on the “Team Fighting 4 A Cure” spent countless hours raising money for the National Capital Area Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).

The tagline for the 2009 LLS campaign is “My Fight. Your Fight. Our Fight.” Robinson’s efforts earned her the LLS Mission Award, presented at the 2009 Man and Woman of the Year Grand Finale Gala held June 13 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The award recognizes “exemplary commitment to the mission of the LLS,” and is based on ‘creativity, passion, reach and leadership,” according to campaign documents.

 “The campaign experience was fun, exciting, gratifying and intense. I’m humbled to be part of a class of candidates that raised more than $897,000 for LLS, setting a national record,” remarked Robinson after receiving her award. “We are proud of how many diverse groups we reached, and look forward to seeing a cure for all cancers in our lifetimes.”

Robinson was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in February 2005, and after surgery and chemotherapy, completed her treatments the following July. As a cancer survivor, she was committed to educating others about the disease, and to do her part in finding a cure, including raising money for research and patient care.

Earlier this year, Robinson was nominated to compete with 20 other men and women in the 2009 LLS Man and Woman of the Year Campaign. She accepted, and quickly assembled her team.

Over the ten week period set aside for raising money and awareness in eastern Loudoun, “Team Fighting 4 A Cure” hosted 17 fundraising events, including a motorcycle poker run, happy hours, two bounce house nights at Sports Bounce of Loudoun in Ashburn, a golf tournament and community art project.

In addition to spreading the word about the mission of the LLS, Robinson and her team raised nearly $45,000 to help find a cure for blood cancers and to provide services for people suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

The amount of money raised this year represented an increase of over $100,000 over 2008. Each dollar raised by a team or individual was counted as a “vote,” and Ari Hausfeld Jones of Fairfax won the LLS Woman of the Year, and Hap Peden of Rockville, Md., won the Man of the Year.

“This is a positive message to the community that despite the tough economic times, our mission never stops, and we’ll never stop striving for a cure,” noted National Capital Area Chapter Executive Director Donna McKelvey, who presented Robinson with the Mission Award.