An estimated 400 people attended the Connecticut Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Light The Night fundraising event held from late afternoon into the night on Saturday, September 28, at Fairfield Hills.

Kristen Angell, the LLS Light The Night/special events campaign manager, said September 30 that the organization is well on its way to reaching the $88,000 fundraising goal set for the Fairfield Hills event.

Light the Night included a 2.2-mile walk on the Fairfield Hills campus in the nighttime during which walkers held aloft color-coded illuminated paper lanterns symbolizing their desire to cure blood cancers.

Seventeen individual teams of fundraisers participated, representing about 300 people who registered for the event, Ms Angell said. Participants ranged from the very young to the elderly. The event ran for about three hours.

LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.

Three more Light The Night events are planned for the state, Ms Angell said.

September was Blood Cancer Awareness Month, she noted, adding that events such as Light The Night not only are fundraisers, but also promote public awareness of the issues posed by blood cancers.

Besides raising money for medical research, LLS organizes support groups, conducts educational seminars, and provides counseling services. The group’s website is .www.lls.org/ct