A six-week competition just kicked off where high school students try to raise the most money to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
It’s called “Student of the Year” and the winner gets $5,000 toward a scholarship. But for one student, winning the competition would certainly take on a much more personal feeling.
Olivia Constantino said she wants to win for her dad. Constantino has actually no photos along with her father after she was a baby because he died when she was just 13 months old.
“My mom has actually told me how his personality and stories and everyone who knew him, how everyone loved him and how sweet he is,” Constantino said.
Tony Constantino had acute myeloid leukemia, and since she can’t make memories along with her father, Olivia is doing something in his memory.
“I don’t want to see anyone else grow up without a dad or grow up without a parent,” she said.
So this high school freshman is on a mission. Constantino is raising money to be the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Student of the Year.
When she kicked off her campaign, she got an encouraging note that came in the form of a citation from Gov. Larry Hogan, himself a cancer survivor. Now she’s ready to get to work.
“My goal is $50,000 in six weeks,” she said.
If Constantino raises $50,000, she can name a clinical trial after her father, and that would certainly mean more than anything to her.
“It would certainly be a really cool thing to have actually a clinical trial named after him, because it would certainly be something that’s a link to my dad’s name,” Constantino said.
“This treatment could be the one that could be the cure,” Cyndie Constantino, Olivia’s mother said. “They can’t do it without people’s funds.”
Olivia Constantino has actually a lot of fundraising events planned not only in the community but at her school, Concordia Prep. She set up a Facebook page along with all the information. For more information on the competition, tap here.
