Katie Palermo ‘17 was diagnosed with leukemia for the first time shortly after participating in a summer LT badminton program before seventh grade. Palermo beat leukemia, but another tumor was discovered after she played on the freshman badminton team. 

“Katie was in and out of school a lot and unable to continue playing due to treatments and the physical toll it took on her body,” retired badminton varsity coach Susan McClenahan said. 

In 2015, the badminton team decided to change Pink Out to Orange Crush in honor and support of Palermo. The cancer ribbon for leukemia is orange, hence the Orange Crush name. Palermo went on to the University of Michigan, but died in 2018 due to complications with leukemia. 

“Unless [the badminton team girls] pass the story down, some of them might not know Katie’s story,” McClenahan said. 

During the first Orange Crush event, Joan Vander Linde, Katie’s mother, came to speak to the team. 

“There were a lot of tears,” McClenahan said. 

April 10 was the 10th anniversary of Orange Crush. Since 2015, the event has grown larger, with shirts sold for $5, handmade posters, and orange and white streamers decorating the stairs and gyms. 

Orange Crush offers up the opportunity for the whole team to connect. First-ranked doubles varsity badminton players Simone Brown ‘25 and Mia Graziano ‘25 both agree that they’ll miss the family they’ve created at badminton when they leave for college. 

“We’re all aware of this part of each other’s lives, and I won’t have that full team experience again,” Brown said. 

Most fundraisers take some of the money they’ve raised for production costs, but LT doesn’t. All the money, about $2,000, goes to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). ​LLS is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and the global leader and innovator in blood cancer research center and resources. 

“[We focus on], research, resources support and education programs for patients, families and caregivers, including financial assistance, as well as continuing education for healthcare providers,” LLS Patient Services Liaison and Information Resource Center Representative Abigail Harre said. “As a patient-focused organization, LLS ensures that funds are invested back into our mission so we can provide the highest level of support for the patients, families, and communities we serve.”

LLS works not only with patients and healthcare providers, but on Capitol Hill, too. With a robust program of public policy, LLS seeks to support health equality and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the U.S. Although minimally supported by government funds, President Donald Trump’s current and planned cuts to government grants, federal research funding, and policies that affect blood cancer families forces LLS to change and reassess their approach.

“As a patient-focused organization, LLS ensures that funds are invested back into our mission so we can provide the highest level of support for the patients, families, and communities we serve,” said Harre. “We also advocate at the federal and state levels for policies that ensure ALL cancer patients have access to better and affordable care.”

LLS has invested more than $1.8 billion since 1949 into blood cancer support to help an estimated 1.7 million people in the U.S. are living with or in remission from blood cancers. In addition, the 5-year survival rate for leukemia has more than doubled since the 1970s, thanks in part to advancements supported by LLS. 

Orange Crush stands as a testament to the companionship and strength of the badminton team at LT, McClenahan said.  

“I’d been told that I would always be part of the badminton team, even when I am not able to play,” Palermo told the LION Newspaper in 2015.