By E. Anders Kolb, MD
When I think back on how I first got involved with Blood Cancer United, formerly The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, it was as a volunteer. My wife, Holly, had just been diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, and my brother ran a Team In Training marathon in her honor. Seeing the supportive community that surrounded him as he raised important funds for blood cancer research, resources, and advocacy inspired me to volunteer, too.
Over the years, I participated in athletic events, raised my lantern high at Light The Night walks, competed as a Visionaries of the Year candidate in Delaware, and joined my local Board of Trustees. Volunteering was the thread that eventually led me to my role as CEO of Blood Cancer United. And it’s what taught me about the varied and valuable work that you, as Blood Cancer United volunteers, do every day.
Volunteers aren’t just part of what we do; you’re woven through every part of our mission. You are the thread that brings Blood Cancer United together as we work to cure blood cancer and improve the quality of life of all patients and their families.
As we celebrate National Volunteer Week, we celebrate you! I want you to know how grateful I am for your efforts all year long. Each of you brings something special to our mission—a thread that makes the tapestry of our work richer, more impactful, and more connected. By sharing your unique talents, skills and perspectives, you help move our mission forward. No matter why or how you choose to volunteer, you are making a tremendous difference for those dealing with blood cancer.
United in action
Your actions matter—whether you’re making your first fundraising call or your 500th; participating in one of our athletic events or handing out water on the sidelines; writing a letter to your lawmaker or walking the halls of Congress to advocate for better healthcare policies. Maybe you’re helping out with a region event or serving on your local Board of Trustees. You might be leaning into your experience as a survivor to guide someone with the same diagnosis or honoring a loved one by introducing other families to our organization. There are countless ways to volunteer, and each is critical to our work. Every volunteer moment is significant and powerful and made even more forceful by the signature strengths you bring to the role.
United in hope
With every relationship you build, act of kindness you show, and story you share, you bring hope to patients and families and spread awareness of our transformational work. Through every athletic and community event and peer-to-peer campaign you take part in, you’re helping to drive progress in blood cancer treatment, support, and advocacy. Your commitment as a volunteer helps patients and families live longer, better lives.
United in impact
Everything you do gets us closer to our bold goal: to enable patients with blood cancer to gain more than one million years of life by 2040. That means more birthdays, more milestones, more moments with family and friends. Your unique volunteer efforts help us build a unique fabric of impact and reach more people and add more time to more lives.
Thank you for sharing your time and talents with us, and for being such an integral part of the Blood Cancer United community. Our work would not be possible without you.
Congratulations to Blood Cancer United’s 2026 National Volunteer Awardees!
Each year, Blood Cancer United presents three national volunteer awards, chosen from nominations across regions. Join me in a virtual round of applause for this year’s award recipients and learn more about them below.
Debra Robinson, Denver, Colorado
President’s Award recipient
Debra was raised in a family that believed deeply in community. Her connection to Blood Cancer United’s mission began through her younger sister Patti Robinson Kaufmann, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1997 at the age of 37. Patti and their dad, Eddie, partnered with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, now Blood Cancer United, to launch Denver’s first Light The Night walk in 1999, where Debra blew up lighted balloons (the precursor to today’s lanterns), set up tables, handed out tee shirts, fundraised, and mobilized her community in support of patients and families. That first walk raised more than $57,000, and Debra has been involved ever since, investing countless hours to grow the event’s reach and impact and helping to raise a cumulative $704,000 over the years. Today, the Rocky Mountain region’s Light The Night raises over $1.3 million annually.
Though Patti passed away in 2008, Debra continues to honor her sister’s legacy—beyond Light The Night. Debra served six years on her local Board of Trustees, where she cultivated new partnerships, supporters, and mission allies. She’s a passionate champion for Blood Cancer United, ensuring that our organization remains top of mind among her personal and professional networks. Debra frequently nominates candidates for Visionaries of the Year and Student Visionaries of the Year, helping to elevate emerging leaders and sustain a culture of recognition and engagement across our organization.
Debra’s impact is also deeply intertwined with her family’s extraordinary philanthropy. After Patti’s death, their dad, Eddie, made a $1 million dollar pledge to establish the Patti Robinson Kauffmann First Connection ® Program, which connects patients and families with trained volunteers who’ve experienced a similar diagnosis. When Eddie died in 2025, Debra stewarded this gift forward by making her own personal contribution, to continue their legacy of connection, generosity and action.
Debra says, “I will continue to show up. Not for myself—but for Patti and for Dad. They taught me that volunteering isn’t about recognition; it’s about showing up again and again for people who need hope.”
Becky Mancuso-Winding, Los Angeles, California
deVilliers Family Legacy Award recipient
Becky’s connection to Blood Cancer United began with a simple introduction from UCLA Health President Johnese Spisso—and quickly became something much more personal.
After witnessing firsthand the toll blood cancers take, particularly on young patients, Becky was drawn to our organization’s high-impact approach and its clear focus on research, access, and patient support. As a colon cancer survivor herself, the mission resonated deeply. What began as a professional introduction soon became a personal crusade. Since becoming involved with Blood Cancer United, Becky has witnessed more and more personal friends and colleagues being diagnosed with blood cancers, many of these children, teens and young adults, each one strengthening her conviction and fierce determination to raise funding to find a cure.
For the past decade, Becky has been one of the driving forces behind UCLA Health’s remarkable fundraising success for Light The Night Los Angeles and has been recognized as the top individual Light The Night fundraiser three times. In 2025, she individually raised a record-breaking $113,000—bringing her cumulative fundraising to nearly $700,000.
Her leadership extends far beyond personal fundraising. In her role as liaison to UCLA Health’s executive team, she has helped strengthen and expand the organization’s already powerful relationship with Blood Cancer United. As a result, the UCLA Health team has emerged as the #1 Corporate Fundraising Team at Light The Night Los Angeles year after year. She has also helped expand UCLA Health’s participation to include Visionaries of the Year and the Southern California Blood Cancer conference.
But Becky’s significance is not measured in dollars alone. As Executive Director of Corporate & Community Partnerships at UCLA Health, she is a connector—bringing colleagues, community leaders, institutional partners, and friends to the Blood Cancer United mission. And she is an advocate in the truest sense: consistently helping individuals navigate the UCLA Health system to ensure access to world-class care.
Becky’s legacy with Blood Cancer United is one of service—and of turning personal conviction into lasting community impact.
Barbara Carbonaro, Commack, New York
Quality of Life Award recipient
Barbara lives by the belief that no one should face cancer alone. In January 2019, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and was told a transplant would be necessary. She didn’t warm to the idea until she spoke to a Blood Cancer United volunteer with the Patti Robinson Kaufman First Connection® Program—someone who had her same diagnosis and had had a successful transplant. This was the spark that set off Barbara’s own volunteer experience with Blood Cancer United.
She stepped into roles as a Community Outreach volunteer and Patient and Family Outreach volunteer in 2021 and 2022, helping families navigate the emotions and complexities that come with a blood cancer diagnosis and guiding them toward Blood Cancer United resources. She quickly became a steady presence across Long Island, determined to spread the word about Blood Cancer United’s free support.
But Barbara wanted to do more, so she became a trained First Connection® volunteer too, offering patients with AML the hope, reassurance, and perspective that only another survivor can provide. Later she took additional training to become a volunteer coordinator for the First Connection® program, facilitating countless matches across the region. She also successfully advocated for Blood Cancer United resources to be available in the hospital she was treated in. Now, as an officially-approved hospital volunteer, she visits admitted patients and shares our resources with caregivers and families. She has made her survivorship a bridge between the hospital and Blood Cancer United’s mission.
Today, Barbara is five years cancer-free. Whenever an opportunity arises to help patients, support staff, or drive our mission forward, she’s the first to chime in. She has touched countless lives through her generosity, courage, and unmatched commitment to the Blood Cancer United mission.
