Ashley, Nancy D. (Birthday Girl), and Nancy #2

A few friends decided to pump up their blood pressure by going out to Lake Elsinore, CA, and jump out of a moving airplane for kicks. They were actually out there celebrating Nancy D.’s Birthday.  Nancy has been a very dedicated and “hardcore” Team Matthew volunteer, attending almost every drive we had in Southern California. When she’s committed to something, it’s hard to pull her away - so it was only fitting that when she committed to jumping out of a plane, that’s exactly what she did! Two of Nancy’s friends, Ashley and Nancy, joined the birthday girl on this crazy feat. I would have loved to join them — maybe next year???

Happy belated birthday and congrats to Nancy on accomplishing one of the things on her bucket list. And, way to represent TM!!

Is she giving her last kiss good-bye? j/k she landed safely on the ground.

Yeah I feel good!!

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Click on image to download pdf flyer

Our friends at Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M) are having a Bone Marrow Drive and a Fundraiser in partnership with Turtle Beach Store in Gardena, CA. The store features Island apparel and accessories, which make great holiday gifts. This weekend there will be a Drive ONLY and next weekend there will be a Drive + Fundraiser. Come on out and show your support.

Help us spread the word to your friends and family! 10% of purchases with the attached flyer will be donated to A3M.

Drive ONLY - Sat & Sun Dec 5-6, 11am-4pm
Turtle Beach Store 1693
W. Artesia Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90248

Drive + Fundraiser - Sat & Sun Dec 12-13, 11am-4pm
Turtle Beach Store 1693
W. Artesia Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90248

Store Manager: Dana Kanakaole, (310)817-5727

For further details or if you would like to volunteer, please contact the following

Sat 12/5, Drive only, 11am-4pm, Recruiter Jackie (jandrade@ltsc.org)
Sat 12/6, Drive only, 11am-4pm, Recruiter Glen (gsangustin@ltsc.org)
Sat 12/12, Drive + Fundraiser, 11am-4pm, Recruiter Ted (tnguyen@ltsc.org)
Sat 12/13, Drive + Fundraiser, 11am-4pm, Recruiter Niranjan (nbhatt@ltsc.org)
Or Call A3M’s office at (888) 236-4673

Recently I found out about a fellow UCLA student who was diagnosed with Leukemia. I wanted to share her story to everyone to show that MANY people are effected by cancer so there is a need to have MANY people registered at bone marrow donors. Janet Lian, 22 years old, was diagnosed earlier this year with ALL, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (bi-phenotypic). She is of Chinese descent and desperately needs your help. Janet was diagnosed and treated at UCLA medical center but is now back home in the Bay area. She is currently getting chemotherapy treatments at UC San Francisco. Chinese and Asians Please Register to Help Janet Liang and many others.

Please register to help Janet and others like her. We can never have too many donors in the National Registry. You can go to www.BeTheMatch.org , www.AsianMarrow.org , or www.AADP.org to find live drives near you.

Janet Liang, 22 years old, needs YOUR help. Please help Janet and many others like her.

To learn more about Janet please visit her website to find up to date information regarding her progress at www.helpingjanet.com

Janet and I were also featured in UCLA Daily Bruin Newspaper and UCLA Pacific Ties Magazine urging UCLA students to register to become a marrow donor.

A few words from Janet:

“There’s an overwhelming amount of guilt I feel and frustration, because all I can do is keep asking and begging. That’s all I’m good for these days with no guaranteed promise of the ability to return your favors. I also understand that many of you have fruitful, promising lives/futures and are extremely busy. All I can really tell you is that I have about 3-4 months time to come up with some kind of bone marrow donor match. That is nearly impossible. The pressure is on, as my doctors and bone marrow transplant coordinator continuously remind me of the time-sensitive nature of treating this disease. If not, they’ll continue to drag it on and on, keeping me alive with one chemo round after another until I become resistant to it and there’s no other alternative except an umbilical cord transplant, which will buy more time and is currently in the research/experimental stages.”