March 24, 2014 at 1:15 p.m.
Bontz hoping to be named LLS of Wisconsin Man of the Year
Bontz hoping to be named LLS of Wisconsin Man of the Year
By Kayla Thomason-
Bontz became involved in the competition after talking to a business owner whose son, Lucas, had been diagnosed with leukemia at the age of three. The family lost everything in order to provide the care their son needed.
A day after that conversation Bontz discovered he had been nominated for Man of the Year, a nationwide campaign broken down by state that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) of Wisconsin.
"I have two little girls myself and I just can't imagine having your three-year-old battle cancer for three-and-a-half years, so it just inspired me to take this whole journey," Bontz said.
He has 10 weeks, from Feb. 22 to May 3, to raise the most money. The good news is Bontz has a lot of leeway on what type of fundraising events he may hold. The guidelines are that all events have to be legal and represent LLS in a positive manner.
Bontz is competing against six other men. He said the experience has been "really, really, really neat" and plans to take his campaign to social media. He has interviewed Lucas and his family and will upload the video to YouTube soon.
He said he has been amazed by the support he has received from the community.
"It makes me really appreciate the community I live in," he said.
Bontz has three events planned, one in Rhinelander and two in Madison.
As of last week, he has raised around $1,000, far from his $25,000 goal.
"It's not about how much people raise," Bontz said. "The main goal is to put as much money to the cure of this blood cancer. In just the last 10 years it's really increased to a survivable diagnosis, right now it's about [an] 80 percent survival rate, from what I understand."
All of the money raised will go to LLS of Wisconsin.
LLS uses that money to aid in research to find cures for blood cancers and grants for families who have lost everything trying to care for a loved one.
"Many times when someone deals with cancer they're forced to go through bankruptcy, let alone deal with the emotional burden of cancer they have to deal with the financial burden," Bontz said.
The winner of Man of the Year award will get a plaque, the title and a billboard to be placed anywhere in Wisconsin.
There is also a Woman of the Year competition, which is going on at the same time as Man of the Year.
To donate to Bontz' cause, visit http://www.mwoy.org/pages/wi/wi14/abontz.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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