Tha Ink Club, a SUNY Buffalo State spoken word and community service club, proudly raised their lanterns and joined the thousands of participants last Friday at the Light the Night Walk for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provides patient support services, and contributes to cancer research in hopes of finding a cure. Tha Ink Club came together to support the growing research, illuminating the night sky with their red lanterns of support.

This was the club’s first year participating in the fundraising event, however they plan to make it an annual event with hopes of increasing the amount of student participation in the future, Tha Ink Club’s event manager, Nubia Hill, said. One of the group’s main goals is to raise awareness.

“There are a limited amount of people that are aware of what exactly leukemia is or what it does, that’s why it’s important to fundraise and support the cause,” Hill said.

Tha Ink Club has strong ties to community service, as well as a special interest in raising awareness, not only on the SUNY Buffalo State campus, but also throughout the community of Buffalo. The annual walk event was even more important to Tha Ink Club’s board because of the disease’s personal connection to some of its members.

“We’re passionate, we’re really passionate about people,” Hill said.

The event has made major contributions nationwide over the past 17 years, and the progress doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The yearly walk takes place every fall in nearly 200 communities across North America, funding research in finding blood cancer cures. The fundraising campaign brings together families, friends, companies, and co-workers alike to raise awareness of the disease that takes the lives of loved ones.

Approximately every three minutes, one person in the United States is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer, and almost 1.2 million people in the U.S. are either living with, or are in remission from, Leukemia, Lymphoma, or Myeloma. Naima Arbaoui, president of Tha Ink Club, commented that the club has evolved since its founding in 2008. Arbaoui emphasizes that the basic function of the club has been forgotten over the past years, and as president, she wants to return the club to its roots in supporting important causes, such as the Light the Night event.

More importantly, states Arbaoui, is that the club provides a safe haven and non-judgmental environment for students and community members to express themselves freely without restrictions or guidelines. Tha Ink Club holds various open mic nights in addition to popular annual events like Sexclusive, which raises sexual awareness for Buffalo State students. Information about future events and open mic nights can be found on Bengal Connect or their Instagram page, Thainkclub.