Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Fitness Challenge Goes Virtual

Marathons and various in-person fitness challenges have taken a hit during the pandemic, not only for athletes but also for organizations that typically use these events as a fundraising tool. 

This year, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS)’s fundraising platform is going virtual. The organization is hosting a 31-day Team In Training Re(solution) Challenge to help create community and promote fitness while raising awareness and funds for cancer research. 

The LLS Virtual Fitness Challenge

The free online event, which takes place throughout the month of January, is the second installment of the LLS Virtual Challenge Series. It encourages participants from all over the world to pick a sport or activity to help meet a preset mileage goal, which is tracked using a personalized fundraising page that can be shared with friends and family, who can make donations and cheer them on. 

“The virtual platform is a great way to get people to participate in a fitness challenge that they may not have felt comfortable doing in person,” Gwen Nichols, MD, chief medical officer for LLS, tells Verywell. “It is a new way for people, who are currently stuck at home, to use a healthy outlet to raise funds for LLS.”

How To Join

Registration is open on the LLS website until January 22, 2021. When you sign up, you’ll also get additional resources to help you achieve your goal, including a musical playlist and exclusive merchandise, as well as the opportunity to invite friends and family to join. 

When registering, members will choose a mileage goal (25, 50, 100, 250, or 500 miles) and the sport or activity they’ll use to achieve the goal. The challenge, which already has thousands of participants, does not have a fundraising minimum that needs to be met. However, participants are encouraged to set a donation goal, and prizes will be awarded based on money raised. 

The challenge will conclude via a virtual party to celebrate member accomplishments. 

Additional Virtual Challenges

LLS has been creating community through in-person fitness competitions for years, and they’re not slowing down. The organization is already planning more virtual challenges and events throughout the year to keep its members and new participants healthy and engaged. 

LLS: More Than a Research Organization 

Along with being a leader in blood cancer research and fundraising, LLS provides information, services, and resources for people who are navigating a diagnosis of leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma.

Information specialists, including oncology social workers, nurses, and health educators, are on hand to provide personalized guidance on disease management, financial assistance, clinical trial information, as well as other forms of support and resources. 

“We have folks ready to help people through this,” Nichols says. “Information specialists are ready to show patients and caretakers the ropes with assistance on services, medicine information, how to get a second opinion, financial and insurance help, and how to talk with your doctor.”

To understand the impact of COVID-19 on blood cancer patients, Nichols says that the LLS is awaiting the results of a survey that was recently administered to 8,000 of its members. The goal of the survey was to gauge how the trickle-down effect of the pandemic has delayed, altered, or changed the course of treatment, as well as to assess the outcomes of those who contracted COVID-19.