Bryan Thomas may not consider himself a hero, but to the families across the globe touched by blood cancer, he is a source of hope and inspiration. In 2021, Thomas led a 10-week fundraising campaign that raised more than one million dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). His grand total broke records and earned him the organization’s title of Man of the Year for the Washington, DC area.

Founded in 1949, LLS is a global leader in the fight against cancer. Its mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, while improving the quality of life of patients and their families. Thomas’ campaign was one of 80 annual fundraisers that took place across the U.S. and Canada.

Thomas is driven to working for the greater good

An executive with Missouri-headquartered World Wide Technology (WWT), Thomas has a strong passion for using his professional talents to build relationships and drive results. He is known among his peers for advocating for a culture of service within WWT which includes positively improving the community.

Thomas also saw first-hand how one of his mentors was able to combat cancer and return to work. But it was a conversation with one of his company’s closest partners that ultimately led Thomas to launch this year’s fundraising campaign.

“I was sharing the incredible experience my wife and I had participating in the LLS ‘Team in Training’ marathon over breakfast with Cisco Area Vice President Carl De Groote when it really clicked,” he recalled. “It was then and there that I first learned how valiantly these children diagnosed with cancer fight. The memory of that experience, of advocating for those brave and inspirational children, further cemented my commitment in supporting the great work LLS is doing every day.”

Breaking fundraising records even during a pandemic

From that point on, Thomas was all in. While WWT’s efforts with LLS in previous years were focused on broader corporate initiatives, in 2021 the company committed fully to supporting the Man of the Year Campaign.

His first task was to assemble a team from among his personal and professional connections to help him develop creative ideas and actively implement fundraising strategies. “I focused on empowering my Public Sector team at WWT to leverage their extensive reach to drive staff, technology partners, customers and friends around the world to donate to my fundraising campaign,” he said.

With his significant network and relationships, the campaign achieved new levels of success despite much of the work being done virtually. “Understandably, fundraising during a pandemic raises considerable challenges,” Thomas noted. “But being a technology company of our size – and with our partners and resources – we leveraged some of our digital capabilities to overcome these challenges.

“In addition, as people were spending more time at home, we had significant participation in the virtual events we conducted with staff, partners and others within our network. These included virtual happy hours, meetings and auctions that took place throughout the country,” Thomas said.

“As things began reopening, we were able to safely and securely host a charity golf event that drew even more attention to the fundraiser. After being stuck inside for such a long time, being able to successfully hold the event on a beautiful summer day reenergized spirits and drove even more donations for the cause.”

The volume of participation was humbling

Thomas didn’t realize the sheer number of people with whom he has worked over his long career. “To have so many of those people willing to not only donate but participate in the fundraising, was astonishing,” Thomas said. “I was humbled by the overwhelming response by  my personal and professional community.”

Personally, he was also motivated by watching the fighting spirit of LLS’s Boy and Girl of the Year, Karter and Ella. “Their energy and will to push on, despite everything they were going through, was an inspiration.”

Thomas’ 2021 fundraising campaign was one of two this year that topped the million-dollar mark for the first time in LLS history. He continues to be involved with LLS, currently serving on the organization’s leadership team.