Teen baking champ aims to shatter $600,000 record in fight against blood cancer

SAN ANTONIO - A local high school freshman and former Food Network champion is trading her whisk for a cause, launching an ambitious campaign to raise more than half a million dollars for blood cancer research.

Lila Smethurst, 14, officially kicked off her candidacy for the South Texas "Student Visionary of the Year." The seven-week initiative, organized by Blood Cancer United — formerly the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society — challenges students nationwide to raise money and awareness to cure blood cancers.

Smethurst, a freshman at Johnson High School, has set a fundraising goal of $600,000 by March 7. If successful, she would shatter the current South Texas regional record of $335,000 and rival the previous year’s national winning total.

"It seems like a big goal, but my team is amazing and we've been working hard for a couple months now," said Smethurst.

The 14-year-old is no stranger to high-stakes competition. Smethurst won season 12 of the Food Network’s "Kids Baking Championship," and she is leveraging those skills for her campaign. Her team, which includes 13 other students and fellow competitors from the baking show, is offering a custom 8-inch cake to any individual or business that contributes $15,000 or more to the campaign through the end of January.

The cause is personal for Smethurst, whose mother and grandmother are both cancer survivors. She also noted that she lost a preschool friend to brain cancer.

"Even though I don't have a super personal connection with blood cancer, a lot of the research that they do at Blood Cancer United ends up helping a lot of other types of cancers as well," she said.

Supporters can also participate in a "Cake Swap" event on January 31 at Mill Street Youth Center Gym in New Braunfels. The event will feature various bakeries, with a $50 entry fee benefiting Smethurst’s campaign.

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