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Lisa joined the Be The Match Registry® in 2010 because she thought it was an easy way to help out. A few years later, her connection to Be The Match® became very personal when her younger sister, Kari, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
While Lisa was not a matching donor for her sister, an unrelated matching donor was found and in August 2013, Kari received a bone marrow transplant.
Over the next several years, Kari and her donor, Kara, became extremely close. Kara attended Kari’s vow renewal, both of their families met, they vacationed together, and they became interwoven in each other’s lives. “They loved each other fiercely and were very much devoted to one another,” Lisa said.
But in 2016, Kari’s leukemia came back very fast and hard and Kari tragically passed away. Lisa still remains in close contact with Kara and knows they will forever share a special bond.
Facing her fears to raise money
Knowing firsthand the positive impact Be The Match can have on the lives of patients and their families, Lisa joined our Champion Challenge fundraiser. And she got creative, incorporating a unique twist to help incentivize people to donate.
Lisa is a notoriously picky eater and never eats fruit—of any kind! She’s even gone to a hypnotist to try to resolve this fear. So, for every $100 donated, she posts videos on Facebook of herself eating different fruits. So far, she’s tried strawberries, pineapple, watermelon, and many more types of fruit.
“I’m sure Kari is laughing at me somewhere,” Lisa joked. But as silly as it sounds, her plan has been extremely successful. Within just a couple days, she surpassed her goal of $500! You can help Lisa knock her goal even further out of the park (and possibly even get her to try more fruits!) by donating to her fundraiser.
The impact of her gifts
Lisa is constantly asking everyone she knows to join the Be The Match Registry. She hopes that her fundraiser will spread publicity to get even more people to register. Furthermore, she knows just how many costs are associated with marrow donation and wants the funds she raises to help with this.
“I want donating to be easy and free for donors. I don’t want there to be any discouragement for people to save someone’s life.
Lisa knows her fundraiser has the ability to help someone else’s little sister and she uses this as inspiration. “Kari got an extra three years because of her transplant. Her kids now have memories of her, she got to go on vacations, buy a house, and so much more.”
Do you want to help more patients create more memories? Start your own fundraiser with Team Be The Match
today!
