POB Student Named Candidate for LLS’s LI Student of the Year

Plainview, N.Y. - Rachel Perlmutter, a senior at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School (POBJFKHS) in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District, has been nominated to be a candidate in the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Long Island Student of the Year Competition.

“I’m honored to have been granted this opportunity, not only because many of my family members have suffered from various forms of cancer throughout the years, but also because I was the first ever candidate to have been nominated from the Plainview-Old Bethpage community ” said Rachel. “As soon as I gained that knowledge, I knew I had not one, but two goals: to raise $30,000 in the span of seven weeks, and to establish my legacy in the community, that has shown me how to embody the characteristics of a true leader.”

The Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Students of the Year competition is a philanthropic leadership development program for exemplary high school students. During the campaign, participants foster professional skills such as entrepreneurship, marketing, and project management in order to raise funds for LLS. The funds raised benefit the LLS mission: to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. The title Student(s) of the Year is awarded to the candidate or co-candidates in each community that raise the most funds during the seven-week competition.

Rachel formed a team that was composed of approximately 25 of her peers who came together to fundraise and promote the campaign. Together, with the help of their families, the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District, community, and local businesses, they raised over $31,000 and were a part of a movement that raised just under a million dollars from Long Island.

“We are so proud of Rachel and her classmates for representing our District as they contributed to such an important cause,” said Dr. Mary O’Meara, Superintendent of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District. “The leadership qualities that these students have shown is a true testament to how dedicated our students are to helping their community.”

For more information about the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District, please visit the District’s website at www.pobschools.org. Exciting activities happening throughout the District and programs celebrating student achievement can also be found on the District’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pobschools/.