For the third year in a row, Shea Homes Arizona joined hands with Shea Mortgage and other partners including Academy Mortgage, Shasta Pools, Foresight, The Rider Elite Team, V.I.P Mortgage, Wespac and M3F, Iconic Life, Homeowners Financial Fairway Independent Mortgage, and a host of others around the Valley leading up to the November 16 LLS Light the Night event, ultimately raising $113,031.56 and counting for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), aiding the organization in reaching its $1 million goal in the Greater Phoenix area, and earning the Top Team Award for funds raised.   

At the LLS Light the Night Walk, which takes place in cities around the country, survivors hold white lanterns, those remembering a loved one carry yellow, and supporters of the cause hold red. Each color is a motif echoing the blood cells and bone marrow that are affected by these diseases.

All proceeds from this event are used by LLS to fund cutting-edge blood cancer research and provide support services to patients and their families during their cancer journey. 

“It was incredible to see the community and our partners come together to help LLS hit that one-million-dollar mark here in the Phoenix area,” said Ken Peterson, VP of sales and marketing for Shea Homes Arizona. “My father has been fighting blood cancer for three years and was diagnosed with leukemia this past February. LLS’s research has already made a huge impact on his treatment and knowing that the money raised for this event could help save his life – as well as a million others – means more to me than I can say.”

Currently, there is no prevention or early screening for blood cancers. Consequently, LLS has focused its research agenda on discovering cures, which has led to breakthroughs in immunotherapy, genomics, and personalized medicine. Many patients have seen survival rates double, triple, and in some cases quadruple, while LLS has even cured certain blood cancers entirely. Still, more than one-third of blood cancer patients do not survive more than five years after their diagnosis, meaning there is a dire need for further research. With 1.3 million Americans afflicted by blood cancer’s various diagnoses and over $1.2 billion invested in research across 300 active projects, LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer. 

Those wishing to donate to Shea’s fundraising effort for LLS may contribute at https://bit.ly/34byC7Z.