West Essex students know that even as high schoolers, they have the power to make a meaningful impact on the world. Junior Angelina Bush and senior Adriana Cerbone embody this idea as they inspire their friends and family to support a cause close to their hearts. These two incredibly strong students have formed a team of volunteers through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that raises money to fight against debilitating diseases such as blood cancer.
“I’ve talked to my friends and a lot of them have a connection to cancer, and just seeing how many people cancer affects, not even just specifically blood cancer, it made me feel like I had to do something about it,” Bush said.
Bush sympathizes with those who have lost family members and friends to cancer and blood disease because of her personal connection to it. Both Bush’s parents and grandparents have had cancer, giving her personal insight into how awful this disease can be. Specifically, her grandmother passed away in 2021 from a very aggressive type of blood cancer, acute myeloid leukemia. Bush’s grandmother was a role model, best friend and most importantly, the inspiration behind her founding of this team for the nonprofit.
“When she was diagnosed with blood cancer, it kind of just drained the life out of her, and it was really hard seeing her go through that,” Bush said.
Bush and Cerbone share a personal connection through their love of softball. Bush said she chose Cerbone as her co-team member because of Cerbone’s connection to the blood disease and the dedication she has for everything in her life. They work at Delizia, a pizzeria in Fairfield, and their families are very close. Cerbone’s mother has a rare blood clotting disorder called factor five. Only five percent of the population has it, and both Adriana and her mother almost lost their lives when Adriana was born. “My best friend’s mom was battling multiple cancers, including leukemia, and she’s currently going through chemo,” Cerbone said. “She’s getting better, so I wanted to do this for her.”
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. In order to do this, they raise money for blood cancer research that will give more patients access to medication and a cure.
To gain support, Bush and Cerbone assembled a team of 10 additional members, including eight West Essex students, a Montville High School student and Bush’s aunt. Bush’s aunt has a daughter in remission from leukemia. As a team, their collective goal is to raise $100,000. In their first week of fundraising, they reached over $10,000. Bush and Cerbone are competing with 30-40 teams throughout Northern Jersey to raise the most money after seven weeks. The team that reaches the highest amount will be named “The Student Visionary of the Year.”
Each of the ten team members have sent between 50 and 100 letters each via both mail and email to family and friends asking for donations. They have also contacted local businesses for sponsorships. They are looking to form partnerships with local restaurants where the portions of the proceeds will be donated to the donations page. They are also selling bracelets for $3.
Their team also has an “honored hero” named Jordan, who is a 9-year-old blood cancer survivor from Clifton. He represents the North Jersey teams and attends most of their events. He acts as an inspiration for those donating and sends videos and pictures along the way showing his gratitude.
“In case some people don’t have someone they are doing it for, they can do it for him,” Cerbone said.
If you are looking to support their team and blood cancer research, you can donate using this link and help volunteer at any of their team events before March 1.
