On Saturday, March 16, from 6 to 8 p.m., a team of eight students from Bromfield will hold a fundraiser at Fivesparks for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a global leader in the fight against blood cancer. The team is part of the society’s Student Visionaries of the Year, a “groundbreaking philanthropic leadership development program for high school students.”
The team leader, sophomore Khivi Nanra, who was involved in the project last year, is hoping to outdo the previous total of about $9,000 from the Fivesparks evening. “It’s for such a good cause,” she said. The event—with the Bromfield Jazz Band, a silent auction, door prizes, and food—is the most important part of the seven-week campaign that ends April 7.
In a recent conversation, Nanra talked about her experiences with LLS and her growing commitment to its mission. Last year her cousin Suner, from Shrewsbury, asked Nanra to join her team and raise money in Harvard. It was kind of last-minute, she said, and “I really didn’t know what I was getting into.” She made wooden yard signs with a heart design, and raised and contributed $8,000 to her cousin’s team. Nanra said that during her fundraising, a number of people told her their stories; “I had no idea how many people have been affected by this blood disease.”
At the end of the 2023 campaign, she attended the annual finale. At the event, the Student Visionary of the Year was announced; the winning team had raised half a million dollars. Nanra said she was suddenly struck by how she was part of something that was making a change, and she wanted to raise even more money for the cause. She and her cousin J.R., who goes to St. John’s High School, looked at each other and said, “We have to do this next year.”
Seated, from left: Ellie Pulido, Khivi Nanra, and Anna Selig. Standing, from left: Yonathan Mesfin, Thaman Surya, and Owen Balsis. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Last summer Nanra applied to be a team leader in the New England region. Since then, she has met a number of times with her advisor and learned more about the nonprofit organization, how it raises awareness and how it spends the money it receives in donations. Some money goes to research, part of which is working toward a chemotherapy free of negative side effects. Money is spent on lobbying legislators for funding to allow people to go where they can get the treatment they need, including out of state, and to support people without money for care.
She has also talked with her advisor about the goals of the Student Visionaries of the Year. In addition to raising funds, the program is exemplary because of its emphasis on developing leadership. Each student participant is asked to create specific goals for one of the pillars. The team leaders are coached in leadership skills and attend workshops on how to help their team fundraise, including outreach to corporate sponsors.
Nanra and J.R. formed a two-town team. They chose the name “Beyond Blood” because, said Nanra, “We wanted to move past the disease.” They chose patient services as their focus pillar and set a goal of $50,000. Her cousin is heading up a team of eight other boys from his school. Nanra has recruited a team of four girls and three boys, all sophomore and junior friends who she thought would care about the project and be willing to work hard. They meet to plan events and to brainstorm ways to ask for money. “I don’t like asking people for money,” said Nanra,”but it’s for such a good cause.
The leadership workshops have been helpful, but still, “Running the team is hard,” said Nanra. “There are a lot of moving pieces.” She has to set an example, organize, and keep things moving. While seven weeks seemed like a long time, the deadline is coming soon. “I have to keep motivating them.” The team is relying mostly on individuals and organizations in town, but Nanra understands the value of corporate sponsors and is trying to help team members pursue that source of funding. It was hard to approach a big company, said Nanra, but once she’d done it, the next time was easier.
In addition to the Fivesparks event, other fundraising projects are the wooden yard signs, this year in new colors and varied designs. The team makes these, and it’s time-consuming to cut and sand the wood and do the design and painting. They are on sale at the General Store, Fivesparks, and Nanra’s porch on Old Littleton Road. The team will hold an open mic night at the General Store and do face painting at two events at Carlson Orchards, on St.Patrick’s Day, March 17, and at the Easter egg hunt, March 30.
Nanra said the whole experience has been inspiring and has solidified a personal goal: “I want to contribute to making a change.”
