Every year, blood cancer survivors, supporters and advocates powerfully embody that metaphor during nearly 100 Light The Night events across the U.S. and Canada.

Blood Cancer United’s signature community experience, Light The Night is the only evening national walk event, rallying communities under the glow of skyward paper lanterns to celebrate, honor and remember people with blood cancer.

Light The Night’s Executive Challenge engages business professionals and community leaders in raising awareness and funds for blood cancer treatment and research. The challenge in 2025 raised $10.6 million to help people with blood cancer live longer, better lives.

“The business community plays a critical role because of both its reach and its influence,” says Coker Powell, Blood Cancer United’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer. “Corporate leaders can mobilize employees, customers and networks in a way that quickly scales impact. They also bring visibility and credibility that helps move the mission forward.”

Below, three executive challengers share their personal motivations for participating in Light The Night and what they hope will come of their efforts.

Each has carried different colored lanterns during their local events with white recognizing patients and survivors, gold honoring lives lost to blood cancer and red representing supporters.

After a yearlong odyssey to get diagnosed, Greg learned he had Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2019. An experimental drug saved his life. Now cancer-free, he’s become a prolific fundraiser, giving back to support research that may save others.

Greg’s responses have been lightly edited.

After I had been in remission for five years, one of our customers invited me to a Blood Cancer United breakfast. There was a 17-year-old girl there who also had Hodgkin’s. She was going through chemotherapy and talked about her experience. I connected with her and was so impressed with her courage.

She and the other speakers inspired me to get involved. My company decided to support the cause. Several of our employees participated. I also reached out to my network and ended up being the top fundraiser in Nashville that year.

What Makes Light The Night Special

Last year’s Light The Night was held at First Horizon Park, a brand new, beautiful baseball stadium in downtown Nashville.

The event was out on the field with music, great speakers and lots of testimonials. I'm a survivor, and I got to be in a pretty small group. It was the smallest group of lanterns. Blood Cancer United made it a really special moment for us. It was incredible and very moving.

How He Hopes His Efforts Will Drive Long-Term Impact

When I was diagnosed, I received an advanced, experimental therapy — a monoclonal antibody — that had just been released six months earlier. The money raised by Blood Cancer United helps fund this type of research.

The research is what I’m most interested in. What can we do to raise money and get answers there? The biotech companies are doing a great job. They just need money.

Awareness is also important. Cancer treatment is expensive, and Blood Cancer United provides a lot of money to families to pay for transportation, hotel stays and therapies. There’s a huge charitable component to their work.

So, when you add all those things up, you realize this is a great cause, and it’s worthy of stepping out and asking people to join.

TOP 5 EXECUTIVE CHALLENGERS

Jennifer lost her husband to an extremely rare and aggressive blood cancer. She’s channeled her grief into rallying her community to find a cure.

Jennifer’s responses have been lightly edited.

I have a deeply personal connection to blood cancer. My husband died in 2018 at just 39 years old. He was diagnosed with a lymphoma that only 50 people in the world ever had.

It was about 13 months between his diagnosis and death. I was introduced to Blood Cancer United shortly after. That year, Light The Night happened to fall near the one-year anniversary of his passing. It just felt like the right opportunity to create some meaning around something that felt meaningless.

Since then, I’ve been involved in multiple Blood Cancer United campaigns. I’ve participated in every Light The Night event since 2019 and was the 2022 Woman of the Year here in Charlotte.

What Makes Light The Night Special

The event takes place at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte. The entire Charlotte skyline right behind the stadium is lit up in red and purple in honor of Blood Cancer United.

It’s one of the few opportunities where you can feel community in action. You have people who support the cause, patients surviving or actively fighting blood cancer and an opportunity to remember those who have lost their own fights.

It also allows my twin sons, Aiden and Riley, to remember their dad in an almost celebratory way. It's just a powerful moment when they get to be surrounded by the community, honoring their dad and knowing we're making an impact on other people's lives.

How She Hopes Her Efforts Will Drive Long-Term Impact

I do my own individual fundraising and serve as national captain for Light The Night for EY. In total, I’ve helped raise $1.4 million since 2019, both personally and by bringing others into the mission.

I want the dollars I’m raising to make progress — whether that's in research, new treatment options, access to care or national advocacy — for all blood cancer patients. My husband’s cancer was so rare that there literally was no treatment plan. So, we’re working to support treatment and ensure universal access if something novel is being developed.

Team Kipphut is what we call our fundraising team every year. Our motto is “everybody deserves a survivor story.” We're going to keep showing up and keep supporting the Blood Cancer United mission until we're able to deliver on that.

Jennifer became more engaged in fundraising through her work in oncology, but her family connection to blood cancer drives her to give back.

Jennifer’s responses have been lightly edited.

Both personal and professional reasons motivated me to participate.

I was team lead last year for my department, but this year they asked me to be an executive leader. I was ready to jump on board and push myself and my team to raise more.

Blood cancer has affected my family. My dad’s cousin is a longtime leukemia survivor and so is my brother-in-law, who has been in remission for 18 years. I've seen firsthand how fundraising for blood cancer supports lifesaving treatments and how those advances in treatment lead to long-term survivorship.

What Makes Light The Night Special

It’s really seeing the community come together to support cancer research.

When you hear those survivor stories, it makes you understand the importance of fundraising. You can see how blood cancer affects everybody, whether it’s the person diagnosed, family members or friends.

Our Light The Night event takes place at Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary. The most powerful part of the night for me is when you see those lanterns lit up against the night sky during our walk around the lake. They reflect off the lake. It's just a very striking visual that hits home and reminds you of the impact blood cancer has on so many people.

How She Hopes Her Efforts Will Drive Long-Term Impact

I hope it inspires other people to think about how blood cancer may affect people in their communities and form a fundraising group themselves or consider contributing. My husband is already talking about creating a team for this year's Light The Night.

I work in oncology, so not only do I have people in my family who were affected by leukemia, but I also see the new treatments. I see the clinical trials being developed. I'm excited to be part of Light The Night because I see the impact research has on patients’ lives.

Light The Night ignites hope for blood cancer survivors, patients and families — and shows the power of collective action.

“When corporate leaders get involved, they bring visibility and a level of reach that accelerates progress in a meaningful way,” Powell says.

The cumulative impact amounts to meaningful progress, bringing Blood Cancer United closer to its goal of helping patients gain 1 million years more life by 2040.

Kipphut is optimistic that one day these efforts will lead to a cure.

“I don't think that research is stopping us. I think what's stopping us is funding,” she says.

Writer: Satta Sarmah Hightower