This Operation Legacy project is rooted in service, compassion, and the quiet courage of a second-grade student bravely fighting blood cancer. Through leadership, fundraising, and advocacy, this effort supports children battling blood cancer and the families who walk alongside them every day.

Lianna is a Student Visionaries of the Year Team Member with Blood Cancer United, participating in a seven-week fundraising and awareness campaign running from January 16 through March 7. While the campaign includes teamwork and friendly competition, its true purpose is service — inspired by a young girl whose resilience has profoundly shaped Lianna’s understanding of courage.

Through Churchill High School’s PALS peer leadership program, Lianna mentors younger students at feeder schools several times each week, serving as a consistent role model and friend. One of the students she mentors is a second grader currently undergoing treatment for blood cancer. Some days when Lianna arrives, her mentee is absent — hospitalized and recovering from treatment. Despite facing challenges far beyond her years, this young girl continues to demonstrate remarkable strength, optimism, and bravery.

This project honors her fight and supports children like her. Funds raised will help provide critical resources for patients and families, support lifesaving research, and ease the financial burden that often accompanies a cancer diagnosis.

The need is urgent. Every three minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Cancer remains the leading cause of disease-related death in children, with approximately 1 in 300 diagnosed by age 20. Nearly half of cancer patients experience medical debt due to treatment costs.

This Operation Legacy project is about more than fundraising. It is about choosing to serve, to lead, and to stand alongside those who are hurting. Inspired by one young girl’s courage, this effort seeks to create meaningful impact today while helping build a future where fewer children must face this battle tomorrow. Through action and community engagement, this project reflects the character and service that define the Travis Manion Foundation mission.

Financial Donations can be accepted here, at the following link: https://pages.lls.org/svoy/stx/svoysa26/lbenitez#lianna's-student-visionaries-of-the-year-fundraiser-1

 

This project will honor the life and legacy of 1st LT Travis Manion.

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