On April 26th, 2012, the very day that he fulfilled his requirements for medical school graduation, Tom Hickernell was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. Set to begin a research fellowship followed by residency in orthopaedic surgery at Columbia that June, it was a devastating blow. Determined to make something positive out of a negative situation, Tom’s sister Katherine set up ‘Team Tom,’ a group of Tom’s dedicated and supportive family and friends, to support the LLS Light the Night fundraising event.
While Tom underwent multiple rounds of intensive chemotherapy, he managed to help the team raise over $18,000 for the event, held in October of 2012, landing Team Tom as the #8 top fundraising teams in all of Manhattan for 2012! As a result, Tom was nominated as the LLS’ Man of the Year in New York City for 2013.
Team Tom’s Man of the Year campaign (ended on June 6th, 2013) raised OVER $70,000 IN JUST TEN WEEKS!
The LLS Man & Woman of the Year New York City campaign in 2013 included 17 candidates and 157 campaign team members who raised a collective $1,523,375.85, making us the #1 campaign in the country!
