Every year, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) holds its “Man & Woman of the Year” philanthropic competition in support of blood cancer research. The ten-week campaign is a prestigious opportunity for participants to both display their fundraising abilities and fight against the deadly disease.
Reify Solutions co-founder Taylor Cobb was nominated and campaigned for the award in the Spring 2020, successfully raising over $5000 towards cancer research. Taylor personally understood the importance of LLS’s goal to find cures for blood cancer, as she campaigned in honor of her late mother who had passed away from breast cancer two years prior.
Reminiscing on her time spent campaigning, Taylor says, “Providing those small moments of hope and joy as a community member was worth the entire campaign”.
In June 2020, with a national discussion taking place on the subject of racial injustices in America, Taylor held intimate conversations with her colleagues and clients about the role of healthcare systems in perpetuating racial inequalities. The feedback from these conversations was overwhelmingly positive, leading Taylor to contact the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in hopes of influencing the organization to publicly support the Black Lives Matter movement. Not only did it soon release a national letter on why black lives mattered, but LLS also partnered with Reify Solutions to implement our “DE&I Essentials” suite within its operations. With this partnership, a foundational conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion began.
Within the span of a few months, Taylor had successfully fundraised and advocated for systemic change within a large-scale nonprofit. Some of these changes have been immediately noticeable; for example, the 2021 class of LLS “Man & Woman of the Year” nominees is much more diverse than in previous years.
Taylor is proud of her work and grateful for the strong encouragement she has received from the local Philadelphia area. Neighbors from her Strawberry Mansion community often called Taylor “Women of the Year” and gave flowers in support.