Lesly Rodriguez is a junior at the University of Delaware. In the summer of 2017, she will be traveling with a group of college-aged students on a 70-day, 4000+ mile ride from Baltimore to San Diego, raising money and awareness for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.
What is your connection to the cancer community?
I was unfortunately introduced to cancer through my aunt, Luz. She has been living with cancer for the past twenty years or so. About four years ago she was proclaimed in remission, but unfortunately about two months ago we were given the news that the cancer had returned with a vengeance. The doctors said with excessive treatment she hopefully will be able to survive for another five years, and the beautiful soul just responded that she would prove them wrong and live ten more. I owe my life to Luz, and I love to see that she has not let this ruin her spirits. Luz was the woman that introduced my dad to my mom. She is a light in all our lives, just as her name suggests, and she will continue to empower my family.
Why are you traveling over 4000 miles this summer with the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults?
Cancer takes a terrible hardship on the physical state of the patient, but a large toll of the disease is the silent killer, the mental hardship. When someone is suffering this amount of pain and suffering, they might feel alone. As a person who suffers from anxiety and depression, I understand what it feels like to feel hopeless and alone. I want to be a ride, because I want these people to know they are not alone. There will always be people that are thinking of them. I want them to know I am with them, and I will not stop, because I don't want them to stop fighting.
2017 marks the 16th year of the 4K for Cancer sending young adults on journeys across the country in an effort to inspire hope and unite communities in the fight against cancer. The 4K for Cancer is a program of The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults (UCF). Interested in joining the fight? Apply to be a rider or runner at www.4kforcancer.org!
Challenge:
Over 70,000 young adults are diagnosed with cancer every year. Young adults (ages 15-39) face a variety of unique challenges with a cancer diagnosis including fertility preservation, social isolation, lack of insurance, delayed diagnosis, and more.
Solution:
The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults changes lives by creating a community of support for young adults, and their loved ones, impacted by cancer. With your support, the Ulman Cancer Fund is able to provide free support services and resources for the young adult cancer community including:
Cancer to 5K - a 12-week training program designed to introduce or reintroduce cancer survivors to physical activity.
Patient Navigation - a free program (onsite at cancer centers and remotely through our office) that ensures no young adult ever faces cancer alone. We provide one-on-one support & resources to young adults and their families to help them manage the cancer experience and long-term cancer survival.
Scholarships - a financial assistance program to help young adults continue their education after being affected by cancer through their own diagnosis or the diagnosis of a loved one.
UCF House - This year UCF broke ground on a “home away from home” to provide free housing for young adult cancer patients, and their caregivers, in East Baltimore.
Your donation will help make these programs and our mission possible!
Supporters | |||
Name | Date | Amount | Comments |
Judy Mattox | 06/27/2017 | $30.00 | We consider meeting you a blessing. Praying for you daily on your adventure. We might look you up on our way to Clearwater. Tony and Judy Mattox | Katie Fanning | 05/21/2017 | $10.00 | Good luck Lesly! You are by far the most bad ass person all over my newsfeed keep working hard and enjoy this incredible experience. | Ashley Miller | 05/19/2017 | $40.00 | Good Luck Lesly! I am donating to you in honor of my Grandmother, who died a long time ago, of lung and brain cancer. Safe Travels! | Kathy Cooper | 05/19/2017 | $20.00 | God be with you Leslie! You are about a good work! | Lesly Rodriguez | 05/14/2017 | $131.00 | Venmo | Maureen Leach | 05/11/2017 | $50.00 | You are making a difference! | Cristin Brown | 05/09/2017 | $25.00 | I definitely admire your persistence! Wishing you all the best on this journey! | Trisha Pabby | 05/09/2017 | $25.00 | <3 | Rebeca Gómez | 05/08/2017 | $50.00 | Lesly we are so proud of you We love you | Rebeca Gómez | 05/08/2017 | $100.00 | Querida sobrina estamos súper orgullosos de tus logros y te apoyamos en tus metas, Jehova te bendiga. Los más sinceros deseos de tu tío Att Andres Gómez | Dhruvi Shah | 05/07/2017 | $10.00 | You are amazing! Keep up the good work. Wishing you all the best and this sounds awesome :) | Anonymous Friend | 05/07/2017 | $15.00 | Ross Franklin | 05/07/2017 | $10.00 | Anonymous Friend | 05/07/2017 | $100.00 | Have a great summer! ❤ the '02 ride | Dana Ballis | 05/07/2017 | $5.00 | I went to University of Delaware and went on the San Diego ride. Both experiences were awesome!!!! You can do it !!! | Melanie Mazanec | 05/06/2017 | $20.00 | Have a great bike trip! | Josie LaCoe | 05/06/2017 | $16.00 | Ride strong, girl! No matter what comes your way, you got this! <3 | Caitlin Leach | 05/06/2017 | $50.00 | Best wishes from a 4K09 alum. Enjoy every minute and when you feel like you can't go any further, you will find infinite strength in remembering who and what inspired you to start this journey. | Loretta Bishop | 05/06/2017 | $50.00 | May you reach your goal for this once in a lifetime experience! Parents of your 4K Ulman mentor, Lori & Rob :) | Siobhan Cahill | 05/06/2017 | $5.00 | Raising $4500 makes biking 4000+ miles look like a piece of cake. It's not much, but it's what I can give you. You're lucky to have Brianne as your mentor. Good luck this summer, pedal hard, and enjoy the journey. | Brianne Bishop | 05/06/2017 | $20.00 | Lesly, remember that difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. Particularly remember this as you are climbing gigantic hills... I wish you a wonderful and safe journey with 4K. Now go change lives!!! <3 | Aiyanna Burton | 05/04/2017 | $5.00 | Anonymous Friend | 05/04/2017 | $15.00 | Lesly Rodriguez | 05/02/2017 | $199.00 | Guitar | Sarah Mayo | 05/01/2017 | $10.00 | Good luck Lesly! | Kylie Quigley | 04/30/2017 | $25.00 | I love you so much and I am so proud of the woman you have become. I'm honored to know you. | Leah McGoldrick | 04/28/2017 | $20.00 | I love you SO much, you got this girlie | Melanie Traub | 04/24/2017 | $10.00 | Best of luck Lesly! | W Bencosme | 04/24/2017 | $100.00 | Go, Lesly, go! | Chris Ottavi | 04/24/2017 | $20.00 | Have a wonderfully lucrative trip! | Anonymous Friend | 04/23/2017 | $5.00 | Great cause. Thank you! | Jelissa Bisono | 04/22/2017 | $100.00 | Good luck!!!! You can do it | Anilfa Torres | 04/20/2017 | $20.00 | Love you | Shannon Burke | 04/20/2017 | $10.00 | Good Luck your determination is truly awe inspiring Wish I could give more because I know how hard you are working for this | Antonina Tantillo | 04/20/2017 | $5.00 | Good luck!! ❤️ | Anne Belic | 04/19/2017 | $20.00 | You are such an friendly and fun person! Good luck!!! | Karen Eng | 04/19/2017 | $5.00 | Good luck! | Laury Gomez | 04/18/2017 | $50.00 | Good Luck!! | Trisha Pabby | 04/17/2017 | $20.00 | ❤ | Nicole Scarmazzo | 04/15/2017 | $10.00 | Good luck! :) | Asha Chintala | 04/14/2017 | $15.00 | What you are doing is amazing, good luck!! | Megan Young | 04/14/2017 | $20.00 | Lesly, your passion and determination for this cause amazes me and I wish you all the best! People like you make the world a better place | Alexandra Ercole | 04/12/2017 | $20.00 | Anonymous Friend | 04/11/2017 | $40.00 | Hi Lesly! I haven't really gotten to know you too well, but I admire your strength and endeavors to reach your goal. Hope this helps! | Samantha Hurst | 04/11/2017 | $20.00 | Almost to your bike! | Aiyanna Burton | 04/10/2017 | $10.00 | I admire your kindness and strength, Lesly. Good luck in your endeavors ❤️ | Gabi Cohen | 04/09/2017 | $15.00 | Good luck!! You're gonna do great girl :) | Randy Short | 04/09/2017 | $20.00 | Such a strong and motivated person! | Amanda Warren | 04/09/2017 | $20.00 | Lesly, I recently read your Facebook post on sexual assault. The strength and courage it takes to share these things is admirable. It is obvious you have put your heart, soul, and passion into this ride. For that reason, I donate again - you took hurt and turned it into purpose. I wish you all the love and success in the world on your journey. | Samantha Hurst | 04/08/2017 | $15.00 | Get that bike! You are doing great! | Breanna Phulesar | 04/03/2017 | $10.00 | I'm broke but love you and this cause! Hope this helps. | Lesly Rodriguez | 04/02/2017 | $90.00 | February March April | Lesly Rodriguez | 04/02/2017 | $10.00 | Para acabar el cancer | Lesly Rodriguez | 04/02/2017 | $10.00 | Lely | Samantha Hurst | 04/02/2017 | $10.00 | Keep pushing girl! | Elianny Gomez | 03/30/2017 | $20.00 | Anonymous Friend | 03/22/2017 | $30.00 | You got this! Good luck on your journey Lots of love ❤️ | Becca Kowalski | 03/21/2017 | $10.00 | Rachael Molitor | 03/13/2017 | $15.00 | Good luck!!! I'm so proud of you and I can't wait to hear about your adventure! | Ben Short | 03/12/2017 | $20.00 | Good Luck! | Nicole Brown | 03/10/2017 | $40.00 | Spread your amazing positivity and kindness across the country, love you! | Samantha Hurst | 03/09/2017 | $44.00 | Good luck darling ❤️ | Aaron Thomas | 03/09/2017 | $5.00 | GOOD LUCK! | Fran Mahon | 03/06/2017 | $15.00 | Michelle Kenney | 03/02/2017 | $20.00 | This is so amazing :) I meant to donate earlier, but I guess better late than never! So happy to help this cause. | Anonymous Friend | 03/01/2017 | $20.00 | Amanda Marks | 03/01/2017 | $10.00 | Good Luck girl!!! You're going to do amazing! | Richard Martin | 03/01/2017 | $1.00 | Isn't she leeeeeeslyyyy | Amanda Warren | 02/27/2017 | $30.00 | Katie Liming | 02/23/2017 | $50.00 | This is the money I had leftover from the money we got to spend at Las Aldeas! | Cristiana Little | 02/20/2017 | $50.00 | Lesly you are inspiring so many people by doing this! I am so proud of you and can't wait to hear about your experience this summer | Sarah Bloomstone | 02/08/2017 | $15.00 | You go girl!!! <3 | Lauren Lynch | 02/08/2017 | $25.00 | Lesly, I am so proud of you for going on this awesome journey for such a great cause! Together, we can kick cancer's butt. You go girl!!! | Cathleen Murphy | 02/08/2017 | $20.00 | Love you Lely!! So proud of you :) | Hailey Krinsky | 02/08/2017 | $15.00 | Shaina Goldstein | 02/07/2017 | $15.00 | Melodie Melbouci | 02/06/2017 | $20.00 | You go girl, I'll be rooting for you!!!! Think of my wonderful hair to give you strength hahaha | Samuel Ross | 02/03/2017 | $25.00 | Lesly- You've got this! Can't wait to hear all about it. | José Luis Garrido Rivera | 02/03/2017 | $30.00 | Como te prometí, ¡aquí tienes la donación! ¡Ánimo! =) | Alexa Bullard | 02/01/2017 | $20.00 | You got this! You're seriously awesome for doing this! Good luck! | Caroline Lawless | 01/16/2017 | $20.00 | You go girl!! :) | Kerry Stewart | 01/15/2017 | $5.00 | Good luck! | Lauren Lamonsoff | 01/15/2017 | $10.00 | Dear Lesly, I wish you every bit of success, happiness, and luck on this incredible journey. Your selflessness and beauty is inspiring to me and to everybody around us! Love you so much and keep doing amazing things <3 Lauren | Alba Fano | 01/11/2017 | $30.00 | Aquí tienes Lesly. Por la gran causa que es y para que sea una experiencia única para todos los que están involucrados. Gracias por inspirarme a mí y a tantos. Me siento muy afortunada de haberte conocido aquí en Panamá. :) TA Alba | Isabella Aswad | 12/11/2016 | $5.00 | Only $7 left in my bank account for the semester, but good luck! | Samantha Hurst | 12/07/2016 | $20.00 | Good luck lesly!!!! | Ana Viscarra Gikas | 12/06/2016 | $10.00 | Lesly, ¡Gracias por hacer esto! Muy orgullosa de ti :) | Tressa Ross | 12/05/2016 | $10.00 | Good luck with this! It sounds awesome! | Lesly Rodriguez | 11/11/2016 | $100.00 |
Total | $2,531.00 |