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Hazel Lakhani is not waiting to become a health professional before making a difference in patients’ lives. She has already raised $965 for Be The Match® through her school’s HOSA, Future Health Professionals, chapter.
HOSA is a global student-led organization with a mission to empower future health professionals to become leaders in the global health community, through education, collaboration and experience.
HOSA chapters partner with Be the Match to save lives by recruiting potential donors to the Be The Match Registry® and fundraising to grow and diversify the registry, provide financial support to patients and their families and fund critical research to improve patient outcomes.
“To save lives of those struggling with blood cancer, the best we can do is spread the message of Be The Match, solicit donations and try to recruit registry members,” Hazel said.
Getting inspired
In September, Hazel’s team from Oakmont High School joined four other top HOSA high school chapters at the Be The Match Coordinating Center in Minneapolis. During their visit, the students learned more about our life-saving mission with a tour of the state-of-the-art Be The Match® Biorepository and a lunch panel session with Be The Match leadership.
“I was already considering a future in the health care field, but listening to speakers share their stories, and learning what Be The Match does to help others was truly inspiring,” Hazel shared.
“It gave me the motivation to start making a difference in others’ lives now instead of later.”
So, Hazel took the initiative to make a difference by setting up a Be The Match fundraising page.
Fundraising force
With social media on her side, the first step Hazel took was sending out the link to her fundraising page with a brief description of Be The Match and how donations can help.
“I spread the word on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Facebook. I even had someone in my family get their company to match donations,” said Hazel. “I made flyers with our QR code and distributed them at a local college fair with my team.”
Hazel started off with barely any donations and woke up the next day with $500. “One thing to remember is that it will always start off slow. Never be discouraged if you’re aren’t reaching the goal you set for yourself,” she advised.
As Hazel watched the donations pour in, and read all the positive messages written to her about the difference she’s helping to make, she felt ecstatic.
“I hope these gifts can help patients and their families overcome the stressful battles they are facing. I also hope that I can be the one to inspire others to start making a difference in the world—just like Be The Match was for me.”
Want to help Hazel continue to crush her fundraising goal to save even more lives? Please consider making a gift in any size today. Or get in on the fundraising action yourself and create a page of your own.
