Do what you love and connect it to fundraising. That’s the one simple rule of the Champion Challenge. And this summer, our very own Be The Match® employees did just that, choosing goals—and saving lives.
The Be The Match executive team set a powerful example by “walking the walk” with their team challenge of doing something related to self-care for 36 minutes every day. Why 36 minutes? Be The Match CEO, Amy Ronneberg explains, “The difference between the likelihood of White patients versus Black patients finding their donor match is 54%. We made it our challenge to walk or do self-care for 54 hours over three months—or 36 minutes a day—in honor of our patients.”
So far, the executive team is more than halfway to their impressive goal of raising $10,000. Every financial gift helps to add new potential stem cell donors to the Be The Match Registry®, assist patients with uninsured transplant costs and fund innovative research to improve transplant outcomes.
Be The Match employee Gretta is not only our director of analytics and implementation, it turns out she’s a pretty great fundraiser, too. So far, Gretta has singlehandedly raised more than $1,000 in the Champion Challenge. “I have a great support system of friends and family who are happy to get behind our mission and donate to help patients in need,” she shares.
In addition to working for Be The Match, a personal connection to our mission helped fuel Gretta’s champion spirit. “Last year I was lucky enough to serve as a companion for a college friend and teammate who donated blood stem cells through peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation,” Gretta says. “Throughout the donation day we talked about what the patient waiting for her precious cells must be feeling and thinking. I had a lot of tears and so much gratitude for Lindy and her selfless act. We still talk about how powerful the whole experience was for both of us.”
What fuels your champion spirit? Start your own fundraising page to support patients in need. Or honor the champions in your life by making a gift to Be The Match. Either way, we’re glad to have you on our team.
