Kathy holding her Livermore Spirit Award
Named after brothers Jay and Leigh Livermore who were dedicated Be The Match® advocates, the Livermore Spirit Award recognizes individuals who’ve demonstrated an outstanding commitment to Be The Match’s life-saving mission.
A true embodiment of the Livermore family’s giving spirit, Kathy Briffett has very deservedly earned the 2022 Livermore Spirit Award.
Inspired to give
When her brother needed a stem cell transplant, Kathy and her family knew how lucky they were that he had a donor match in the family. She wanted to do more for families who weren’t so lucky—and do more she did.
Since 2018, she has raised over $15,000 for Be The Match, giving patients with blood cancers and blood diseases more hope of finding their cure with an unrelated donor match on the Be The Match Registry®.
Every summer Kathy competed and swam across Iowa’s Lake Okoboji to raise funds. And when official races were canceled, Kathy called in her family to support her solo swims.
“I swim a long-distance race every summer as my fundraiser,” said Kathy. “Our family has also rallied together to do a ‘Lazy Man’s Triathlon’ where the contestant could do whatever they were comfortable doing—we just wanted to raise funds for Be The Match.”
A fight to the finish
This year, Kathy swam across Lake Minnetonka near Minneapolis, departing from the beach in Excelsior and finishing at Wayzata beach.
It was a cold and very windy day. Kathy swam into whitecaps for the first four miles—the toughest conditions she had ever been up against. She completed the swim (approximately five miles) in three hours and 42 minutes.
“The swim was nothing compared to what a bone marrow transplant patient and their family has to go through,” Kathy shared. “I will fight and do whatever I can to support the mission of Be The Match. I will step into whatever waters they need me to navigate.”
If you’d like to support Kathy in her fundraising efforts and directly impact patients with blood cancers and blood diseases, please make a gift of any size to her fundraising page. Or learn how you can start your own fundraiser to help patients in need.
“I am only a minnow in a huge sea of donors and volunteers,” said Kathy. “But I will do what I can to ensure everyone pitted against a blood disease can get a fighting chance.”
