Illuminating and Inspiring a New Generation of Cancer Advocates

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Shaan Kalyani. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Shaan Kalyani’s volunteerism is rooted in personal experience, but its impact now spans statewide. After witnessing family members in India battle cancer, he transformed his concern into action—channeling his passion into the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year (LLS SVOY) campaign. Over four years, he helped raise over $80,000 as a team member and captain. Now, as a junior member of the executive committee and part of the Maryland Junior Leadership Committee, he mentors and empowers a new wave of high school volunteers to continue the fight against blood cancers.

Shaan dedicates 15 to 20 hours each month coordinating fundraising events, overseeing campaign strategy and guiding new teams. His mentorship provides students across 30+ high schools in Maryland with the tools and confidence to exceed their fundraising goals. By encouraging over 250 teens from different backgrounds to join the cause, Shaan is helping build a sustainable and impactful movement. His approach ensures that the fight against cancer is not only well-resourced but also community-driven.

Beyond financial impact, Shaan’s leadership cultivates meaningful change in youth engagement. He fosters a strong sense of purpose and unity among participants, using his role to show peers how civic involvement can stem from personal stories. His dedication has earned him national recognition, including the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award and induction into the Maryland LLS Hall of Fame. But more importantly, it has strengthened a statewide network of compassionate, motivated student leaders.

The 2024–2025 Maryland LLS campaign raised an astounding $1.4 million in total, a testament to the collective power of student-led efforts Shaan helped shape. These funds directly support cancer research and patient care—turning advocacy into action with lasting effects. Shaan’s work ensures that families facing cancer are met with both hope and support, reflecting his commitment to health equity and community solidarity.

Shaan Kalyani is not only fighting cancer—he’s reshaping what youth service can look like. Through mentorship, vision and a deep sense of responsibility, he is building a legacy of leadership that inspires others to turn personal challenges into transformative change. His story is a powerful reminder that even one voice, when lifted with purpose, can ignite a statewide movement.

Tell us about your volunteer role.

I currently serve as a member of the Junior Leadership Committee for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year campaign in Maryland. As one of 20 high school students selected for this executive committee, I mentor teams statewide, providing guidance on campaign strategy, fundraising, team building and community outreach. My journey with LLS began four years ago as a team member during my freshman year of high school (2022), then I advanced to team captain (2023) and now I’m in this leadership role where I can make an even broader impact (2024–present).

Over these four years, my fundraising teams have altogether raised $80,000 for the LLS’s mission to cure blood cancers. The 2024-2025 Maryland campaign as a whole raised an incredible $1.4 million, a massive increase from the previous year’s campaign. My dedication to this work has been recognized through the President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award for accumulating over 100 volunteer hours in a single year, and I was also inducted into the Maryland LLS Hall of Fame.

I’m particularly proud that as part of the Junior Leadership Committee, we’ve collectively been able to inspire 250+ teenagers in 30+ high schools from diverse backgrounds to join the fight against blood cancers. This role allows me to create sustainable community involvement by ensuring that knowledge and passion transfer to new student leaders each year. My commitment has remained consistent throughout this entire four-year period, and I continue to actively participate in current campaigns while supporting the next generation of student volunteers. Through this consistent involvement, I’ve been able to develop meaningful relationships and contribute to building a foundation for ongoing community impact.

Why is this issue so important to you?

This cause is deeply personal to me because I’ve watched family members battle cancer, which completely transformed my perspective on the importance of research funding and patient support services. Watching loved ones quietly endure rounds of treatment while trying to maintain normalcy made me realize how important it is that no one face this journey alone. It showed me firsthand the difference that breakthrough research and strong patient services (such as that done by LLS) can make in someone’s fight against cancer or other chronic diseases.

Beyond my personal connection to the cause, I’ve come to understand that blood cancers affect people of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances. These experiences have reinforced my belief that we need to fund research not just for today’s patients, but to make sure that future generations have better treatment options and, hopefully, cures.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

My inspiration came from having a personal connection with family members affected by cancer, but what really motivated me to take action was learning about LLS’s incredible impact on the community through funding both cutting-edge research, policy, advocacy and essential patient services. When I first learned about the Student Visionaries campaign, I was struck by how it empowered young people – I was only a freshman in high school when I first joined – to make a real difference in the fight against blood cancers while simultaneously developing leadership skills.

I was also inspired by the innovative approach of having students lead these fundraising efforts. The idea that teenagers could unite diverse communities, collaborate with local businesses for sponsorships and create sustainable movements for change really resonated with me. I saw it as an opportunity to transform personal challenges into powerful community action, and I knew I wanted to be part of something that could have such a meaningful impact on patients and families facing these diseases.

What are your long-term plans or goals as you volunteer with the organization?

My primary goal is to continue expanding LLS’s reach among young people throughout Maryland. I want to help bring even more high schools into the campaign and create a sustainable pipeline of engaged student leaders who will carry this mission forward. Through my mentoring role as part of the Junior Leadership Committee, I’m focused on developing the next generation of fundraisers and advocates who will continue this work long after I graduate.

Further, I hope to leverage my experience in digital media and entrepreneurship to help LLS explore innovative fundraising approaches and reach new audiences. Through building a social media platform with over 450,000 followers and half a billion total views focused on feel-good sports content and youth digital wellness, I’ve seen how powerful social media can be for raising awareness and inspiring action.

I’ve already put this into practice by donating revenue from my social media business to support health-related causes close to my heart, including contributions to the Johns Hopkins Department of Child Life and LLS itself. Long-term, I want to see the Student Visionaries campaign become an even more integral part of how young people across the country engage with charitable causes, particularly in the fight against cancer.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

The most rewarding aspect has been seeing the ripple effect of inspiration and action that this work creates. When I successfully recruit a new student to join a team, or even a new high school to join the campaign, and then watch them discover their own passion for the cause and go on to inspire others, that’s when I know we’re creating something truly sustainable. I’ve witnessed students who initially joined just to support a friend become some of our most dedicated advocates and leaders. Watching this transformation reminds me that behind every dollar we raise are real families and real hope for better treatments and outcomes.

What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?

Through my LLS work and my broader volunteer experiences, I’ve learned that meaningful change happens when you combine passion with persistence and strategic thinking. Leading fundraising teams taught me how to motivate diverse groups of people toward a common goal, while my role mentoring other teams has shown me the importance of empowering others to find their own leadership styles.

My volunteer work extends beyond LLS to include performing and teaching juggling – one of my other passions – at the Ronald McDonald House for families and children who are residing there, some of whom are battling cancer, and volunteering as part of the High School Summer Helpers Program (HS2) at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the pediatric emergency department.

I also co-founded a student-led community service project titled Ears4theElderly, where I bring joy to older residents in assisted living facilities through games, exercise, music and other forms of entertainment. These experiences have taught me that healing and hope come in many forms: sometimes it’s through funding groundbreaking research, and sometimes it’s through a simple juggling performance that brings a moment of joy to a child undergoing treatment. Each volunteer role has reinforced my belief that service is about meeting people where they are and bringing whatever skills and energy you have to make their day a little brighter.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

Getting involved with causes you care about transforms you from someone who simply cares about an issue into someone who actively works to solve it. When you volunteer, you develop a deeper understanding of complex problems and gain the skills to make meaningful contributions. I’ve seen and personally experienced how volunteer work creates far-reaching effects because when people commit to serving others, they often inspire family members, friends and classmates to get involved as well.

Volunteering also provides perspective that’s impossible to gain any other way. Whether I’m fundraising for blood cancer research through LLS or volunteering directly with patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital, these experiences have taught me about resilience, gratitude and the power of community support. When others get involved with causes they care about, they not only help address critical needs in their communities, but they also develop empathy, leadership skills and a sense of purpose that enriches their own lives. This reflects one of my favorite quotes from Mahatma Gandhi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering.

My biggest piece of advice is to start with what personally motivates you whether that’s a cause that has affected your family, an issue you’re passionate about or a skill you want to share with others. When you have that personal connection, you’ll find the energy and commitment needed to make a real impact. Don’t worry about starting small; I began as just one team member among many, and that experience taught me the fundamentals that I now use in my leadership role.

Also, look for opportunities where you can grow and take on increasing responsibility over time. The most fulfilling volunteer experiences are those where you can develop new skills and relationships, take on leadership roles and mentor others. Whether you join an established organization like LLS, or create your own initiative like we did with Ears4theElderly, focus on building something sustainable that will continue making an impact long after your direct involvement ends.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of bringing joy and personal connection to your volunteer work. Sometimes the smallest gestures, like mentoring a nervous new team captain or celebrating when a team reaches their fundraising goal, can create the most lasting impact on someone’s volunteer journey.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Shaan? Find local volunteer opportunities.