Pike County cancer survivor receives Mission Award for 24 hour livestream fundraiser

Tim Sohn, a Shohola resident, 15 year cancer survivor and a candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year philanthropic competition that wrapped up on May 18, received the Mission Award from the nonprofit organization’s Northeast Pennsylvania chapter.

Man & Woman of the Year is a 10-week campaign to raise money for the organization whose mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Sohn received the Mission Award at the Grand Finale at the Hilton in Scranton on May 18. He received the award for organizing and hosting Open Your Hearts & Wallets for Blood Cancers – a 24 hour livestreamed fundraiser that took place on March 8 and 9.

More than $6,000 was raised over the 24 hours, 14 livestreamers from around the world volunteered their time and had conversations with cancer survivors and supporters, musicians and entertainers performed, and businesses and individuals donated products and services to go toward a raffle that took place during the final hour of the event.

Sohn wants to thank his team: Joy Sohn, Dorothy O’Dell, Nancy Barrows, Marc Lee, DeeJae DuRante, Rob Statham, Christine Gritmon and Steffen Kaplan. He also wants to thank his livestreaming team for the 24 hour event: Dorothy O’Dell, Brian Schulman, Nancy Barrows, Kara Oelker, Robert Murray, Carl Sullivan, Russ Johns, Ingor von Rooi, Usama Zeid Bashir Salim, DeeJae DuRante, Jenny Gold, Jim Fuhs, Marc Lee, Steffen Kaplan, as well as special guests Rachel Druckenmiller, Jim Calhoun, Ashok Bhattacharya, Steve Sullivan, Darren Gibb, Rob Howze, the Funky Eye Puppets, Sage Breslin, Sara Mayer, Connie Keller and more.

Sohn also hosted special episodes of the weekly livestreamed show “Showing Up: Perspectives On Cancer,” having conversations with Laura Rapa, mother of Girl of the Year McCoy, and Kristy and Stephen Voytek, parents of Boy of the Year Grayson. Over the 10 weeks, Sohn and his team raised more then $13,000.

To view some of the videos from the 24 hour livestream, go to https://bit.ly/openyourwallets.

Sohn is also organizing an in person Showing Up: Perspectives On Cancer event in Northeast Pennsylvania, which will take place on September 24 and 25. The event will bring together cancer survivors, patients and supporters to share their stories in a safe space, receive unconditional support, and learn about resources that provide healing, hope and resilience. Please email tim@sohnsocialmediasolutions.com or text 973-255-8110 if interested in receiving more information as it becomes available.