Team Jerry / Jerome

My family and I have been walking in Light The Night in memory of Jerome, my father, since 2018. Before that, we had walked with him in 2014 when he was still battling Leukemia and Lymphoma. Our team consists of myself, my mother and sisters and their families, and at different times more extended family. I am a radio announcer at News 1130 in Vancouver and also belong to a group of young people, called the Ambassador Leadership Committee, who are advocating for the LLSC in our community.

One of my best memories of Light the Night was in 2018. I have this grainy cell phone video of my mom and my niece and nephew doing the warm up together and it was this beautiful moment of us being positive together as a family despite everything we have been through. I know my dad would have been happy to see us there together having fun and remembering him. I also love my memory of doing the walk together with my dad in 2014, and that same year that I saw one of my old teachers, who was also battling blood cancer. It was surprising and also special to be there walking for both him and my dad. You never know who you know that's connected to this terrible disease and it is much more prevalent than you'd expect.

My personal connection to this cause is because of my dad, but also, I've always had a lot of energy and a lot of drive, and I've been interested in applying that over the years to different causes. When my life was touched by blood cancer it made sense that I would channel my energy towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. Also, when my dad was sick and we offered to support a charity for him, he requested that we support the LLSC, and we continue to do so.

Light The Night is really an event that expands your knowledge of other people's experiences. I love hearing everyone's stories and feeling connected to everyone that is at the walk. There are families there remembering their loved ones like we are, and it is so nice to feel that banding together as a community. Light the Night and the time leading up to the walk is really a time for us to come together as a family and really remember my dad and connect with each other. It is a moment that stretches beyond all the difficult things we experienced as a family and where we put our best foot forward to remember my dad. We usually pull out our photo albums around the time of the walk and talk about him together and really remember all of the great things about him.

In 2019, I did a social media challenge with the Ambassador Leadership Committee to fundraise for Light the Night called 31 in 31, where you had to do 31 new things during the 31 days of August. During this challenge I was able to connect with the BC Lions and dress up like Mike Riley. My dad played football, so this was a very special moment for me. I was imagining him smiling down at me while I was playing football and that made me really happy. One other thing that was very memorable for me was last year during Light The Night, was that we organized for the BC Place Stadium to light up in the colors of the walk—red, white and gold. It was really cool to see online on Reddit that people noticed and that it created awareness for blood cancer in our community.

I encourage everyone to join Light The Night because the event is just really cool. Seeing all the lanterns and having that beautiful space in Stanley Park together is really special and unique. There's nothing else like it. You'd also be surprised how many people you know that have been affected by blood cancer, and how many people in the community support this cause. And, even if you don't know about any connections, it's worth supporting because it touches so many people in our community.