During a surprise virtual meeting on Wednesday, Houston Independent School District Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan was honored with a HERO award by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society – Gulf Coast.

The award, which was presented during a virtual Microsoft Teams meeting between district leaders, honors individuals and/0r teams/organizations who raise or donate $50,000 to help fund cutting-edge research and support for cancer patients and their families.

“Thank you for this honor, we really honor and value our partnership with this organization,” Lathan said. “It really is the work of Team HISD, they do the hard work, and we couldn’t do it without them.” Lathan said.

HISD is one of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Gulf Coast’s largest district partners with over 113 schools registered to fundraise for children with cancer. Last year, the district fundraised a total of $80,000 Leukemia & Lymphoma research and programs. At the end of the surprise, Lathan put forth a new fundraising challenge for district.

 “If we raised $80,000, then we need to get our act together and raise $100,000 next year,” she said.

For more information about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Gulf Coast, visit https://www.lls.org/gulf.