Leigh Perkins playing the harp. Photo provided by L. Perkins.
Q. Share with us a little of your background, family, school, etc.
A. My name is Leigh Perkins, I’m 16 years old, and I live in North East Ohio with my mom and my older brother, Jake .I have gone to Hawken School since preschool, except for first grade when my Mom pulled me and my brother out to homeschool us and take us on a trip around the world so she could show us all the amazing places around the globe, and also to give us some perspective. I’m in 10th grade now. My family is very involved in conservation, science, and especially the outdoors (both as a hobby and business), so we hunt and fly fish a lot.
Q. What spurred your interest in cancer cell and gene therapy?
A. I started formally donating to charities and organizations when I was around ten, and I was responsible for choosing the places I would like to put my money. I knew right off the bat that I was interested in conservation (ocean and wildlife) and health. St. Jude’s Hospital stood out to me right away and I’ve given to them over the past couple years. The more letters I received from St. Jude’s the more it got me thinking about how I could find more charities that would help with this cause. I sat down and read the Better Business Bureau’s charity review and I came across Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, who seemed to be doing everything exactly right. I read up on it and I loved that ACGT looks at a specific course of action (obviously gene therapy) and how it is a very individualized, down-to-the-core approach rather than a general one. And although it is not directly related to cancer, right before I started donating to ACGT I was being tested for a disease called Neuro Fibromatosis type 1, which is (from my understanding) a genetic disorder that causes tumors (usually benign) to grow on the body. Thankfully I don’t have NF1, but that scare definitely got me thinking about genetics, tumors, cancer, etc. I’m also just interested in genetics in general. My mom always talks about how she saved my and my brother’s cord blood through a cryo bank when we were born, and how she hopes that science will advance far enough in the future that we will be able to not have to worry about as many diseases and illnesses as we do now. I also personally have a lot of issues with my vision, and when I was younger I used to get excited about the idea of gene therapy in general being able to help with blindness and vision, etc.
Q. Why did you get involved in philanthropy at such a relatively young age?
A. My family has valued philanthropy and generosity for generations, but it was my great grandfather, Ralph Perkins, who started a family foundation and tradition of teaching and encouraging philanthropic responsibility in the younger generations. I have been taught that philanthropy is not only a fantastic way to encourage change and choose the areas where I would like to see that change in the world, but also it is a responsibility to give and be generous; both in everyday life, and in cultivating and encouraging areas of growth in this world we are a part of.
Q. What are your hobbies/interests outside of philanthropy?
A. After school I do Speech and Debate, and one day a week I tutor some of the younger kids at a local public school. I play tennis during the summers (I’m not very good) and I start lacrosse for school in a few weeks. Outside of school, I love music; I have been playing the harp since I was six, and I also like to mess around on the piano and ukulele. I also enjoy reading, hanging out with friends and family, shopping, fishing, canoeing, and skiing (and more shopping).
Q. Why give/get involved?
A. I think it’s easy to sit around and hope that some random scientist or politician will stumble across solutions to all of our problems, and that may very well happen, but I think if you want to see a change, you need to do something to help that happen. And that is exactly what organizations and charities like ACGT are for. They’re here to do the hard work: hiring the right people, targeting problems and solutions, conducting research, etc. All they need is for us to lift them up and propel them a little bit, so that they can keep working on finding solutions for our problems. I think it’s a pretty good deal.