Get to know Shen basketball player, rising junior Kaitlyn Hansen
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — Shen junior, Kaitlyn Hansen, loves playing basketball with her team. It’s a time when she can have fun, work, and be with her friends. As a forward on the team, she works hard in her sport, but she also works hard off the court with a cause that is near to her heart.
When her mom was pregnant with her, Kaitlyn’s father was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. He fought hard, but ultimately lost his battle on March 26, 2011—when Kaitlyn was only four years old. “Seeing how cancer affected our family, I wanted to help other families so they didn’t have to experience the loss of a loved one to cancer,” says Kaitlyn. So she has made fundraising for Leukemia research in honor of her father one of her priorities, and her team has been with her every step of the way.
They’ve tried multiple types of fundraisers, some doing better than others. Two of their best were the basket raffle and 50/50 raffle at the Shen doubleheader basketball games and the basketball workout. Emailing and social media proved to be a smart strategy with many of their donations coming through posting on Facebook and through email. “At times it was hard to stay on track when we weren’t getting emails back. It seemed that we weren’t getting a lot of donations, but my team and I keep working, and we were able to raise over $50,000,” she says.
Even though they do not currently have a team-sponsored fundraiser going on right now, fundraising efforts happen all throughout the year through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), including events like the Student of the Year, Man & Woman of the Year, Light the Night, and the Big Climb fundraisers. The community can get involved by participating in any of the events, donating through the website, and helping to spread the word about upcoming events and the work the organization is performing.
When not on the court or fundraising, Kaitlyn enjoys taking her science and math classes at school and spending time with her friends, swimming, running, and going on walks. In the future, she’s looking forward to continuing to help people while working in the medical field.
For more information about the LLS, visit www.lls.org.
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