First published in the September 2021 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine and on its website.
When a friend asked Mindy Jones if she would help her raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of the Baton Rouge Bees, Mindy agreed. That “yes” turned into a leadership opportunity for Mindy, as the next year she led the Bees’ fundraising efforts, raising more than $41,000.
“As the campaign went on and I learned more about it, I realized how much this society does and how much they do for our community,” Mindy, 17, says. “My grandfather actually passed away from leukemia three years ago, so it’s a very personal journey for me.”
Now a senior at St. Michael the Archangel High School, Mindy received the 2021 Ochsner Citizenship Award for Mission Integration, honoring her for “spreading the word about this campaign and LLS in general throughout the community,” she says. Her fundraising included other schools and companies to make a bigger impact.
“We did things like reaching out to our middle schools that we went to who held fundraising days,” she says. Mindy is a graduate of St. Teresa of Avila Middle School. St. Michael’s included the campaign in its annual service initiative, and her dad’s company raised about $10,000 by challenging different branches to raise the most.
With college in her future, Mindy hopes to become a psychologist working with criminal behavior. While she won’t lead the fundraising team this year, this amazing kid will still work to raise money and awareness of leukemia and lymphoma.