Thousands 'Light The Night' In Philly To Fight Blood Cancer
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The area surrounding the Philadelphia Museum of Art was shining bright Saturday night as thousands gathered to raise awareness and money in the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma.
Ellen Rubesin oversees all "Light The Night" walks throughout the east coast, but says the one in Philadelphia is their largest.
"We are celebrating blood cancer survivors, we are walking in memory of those that have passed and we're raising money to find a cure for blood cancer which is our mission," Rubesin tells KYW Newsradio.
The Art Museum area is shining bright as thousands #LightTheNight in the fight against blood cancer @KYWNewsradio @LightTheNight pic.twitter.com/enn6tKXWag
— Andrew Kramer (@Philly_Kramer) October 28, 2017
Thousands took part in the short walk, which began outside the Art Museum. Everyone broke into teams, with each individual holding a different color lantern.
"People that are carrying gold lanterns are walking in memory of someone, people that are carrying red (lanterns) are walking in support of people that have blood cancer, and people carrying white lanterns are survivors," said Gina Angelo.
Those survivors were recognized before the walk began.
Angelo and her team held gold lanterns in memory of her father, who lost his battle to Leukemia earlier this year.
"Obviously we're all very emotional and missing our father," she says "but honoring him is a way of us remembering him and also giving to this cause and hopefully someday they'll find a cure for it."
That's Dwayne Richardson's hope too as he and his loved ones also held gold lanterns in memory of his mother who passed away three years ago.
"(This event) brings us closer because she was everybody's mom," he says, referring to his entire team that participated.
Organizers say the monetary goal of Light the Night Philadelphia is $2 million raised.