This year’s Leukemia & Lymphoma Month fundraiser will include a 5k race and a yard sale in addition to the return of Guy Auction, Whitman Idol, bRAVE, Battle of the Beards and Battle of the Bands.

“We’ve tried to make the events more community-oriented and involve a lot of people outside of the SGA in order to reach out to Bethesda,” SGA president Jacob Rosenblum said.

The SGA is offering students and clubs the opportunity to organize events in order to get the community involved, Rosenblum said. The G.U.Y.S. (Give Us Your Stuff) yard sale will be held Jan. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. Students and community members can bring unwanted items to sell, and any remaining items will be donated to the Salvation Army.

“People get rid of their clutter, get new stuff and the SGA raises a lot of money. It’s a no cost event that’s pretty easy to put on and participate in,” Rosenblum said.

The Red Rush 5k is another new event that should bring the school community together. The race will replace last year’s Hoops for Heart basketball tournament. While Red Rush is scheduled to take place Feb. 10., the SGA has been planning the race since October, junior class president Jorge Richardson said.

The SGA hopes it can get a mix of students and community members to sign up for the race. If registration goes as planned, the race could bring in as much as 7,500 dollars, Richardson said. The race will rival Walter Johnson’s Burrito Mile race, Rosenblum said.

Whitman’s 12-hour dance marathon, bRAVE, is going to be even bigger this year, Rosenblum said. This year, the SGA is encouraging students to bring guests from other schools.

Rather than hiring a DJ, the SGA will use its own playlist. Students in the leadership class have been compiling house music for bRAVE since the beginning of the school year.

The rest of the events planned for Leukemia and Lymphoma month are equally impressive. This year’s Battle of the Bands on Feb. 6 will feature popular local band Dale and the ZDubs, as well as student musicians.

Guy Auction, on Feb. 13, will feature junior and senior boys selling themselves as dates to raise money. In addition, students can donate money to their favorite bearded men in the Battle of the Beards and purchase red Leukemia and Lymphoma wristbands throughout the month.

For the past three years, Walter Johnson has won the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s high school challenge. The SGA hopes to raise more money than Walter Johnson and finally win the challenge.

With all of the SGA’s planning and preparing, Whitman’s chances of winning are high, Rosenblum said.

“This is the first year that the freshman officers have mentioned beating WJ in their speeches and we’ve got all these people outside of leadership excited,” he said. “I really think we can do it this year.”