A group of students hosted a bake sale to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) as part of their Student Visionaries of the Year (SVOY) Program on the Quad on March 14. The team, WCKD Cancer Fighters, sold homemade baked goods, and the profit went directly towards researching a cure for cancer and improving the quality of life for patients and their families. The team raised more than $900 during the bake sale.
Through SVOY, students form fundraising teams and compete to raise the most amount of money for LLS over the course of seven weeks.
Assistant News Section Editor Nathan Wang ’25 and Paul Song ’24 are leading WCKD Cancer Fighters. Team members Lorena Um Kim ’25 and Callum MacLachlan ’26 contributed baked items to the sale and Assistant Features Editor Alex Dinh ’25 and Micah Parr ’25 managed the bake sale stand.
“The program is basically a friendly competition between teams in Los Angeles to see who can raise the most money,” Wang said. “All the proceeds that we’re selling today, like the rice krispies, the brownies and the cookies [are] all going to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society for cancer research.”
Wang started WCKD Cancer Fighters with Song because he felt compelled to help the people and communities affected by the disease.
“I know that there are a lot of people in our community who are suffering from Leukemia and Lymphoma , especially children,” Wang said. “That encouraged Song and I to lead this team and do this bake sale because we know this is going toward a good cause, and we know that our efforts are improving our community.”
Song said the money raised will aid the search for a cure for blood-related diseases.
“I’m passionate about raising money for this cause because I know what it’s like to lose a family member [to] a disease without a modern cure,” Song said. “By donating, we are one step closer to a cure, not just for leukemia and lymphoma but also other diseases related to blood cells.”
MacLachlan said his personal experiences with cancer motivated him to participate .
“My grandmother died of ovarian cancer, so participating is in her honor,” MacLachlan said. “I like to bake, and I was thinking that I might as well bake for a good cause.”
Donor Emmy Spieker ’26 said she was inspired to donate because of the homemade baked goods and the potential impact her donation could have on cancer research.
“[There were] homemade rice krispie treats, which were better than the store bought ones,” Spieker said. “It felt good knowing that I’m not only eating a cheap rice krispie treat , but I’m also helping people.”
