The Huddle: Spring 2022 Edition

THE HUDDLE

Welcome to the 2022 first quarter edition newsletter, “The Huddle”, which we hope will be a helpful source of news and information for our teammates, donors, volunteers, and friends. To keep everyone in on the game plan, we encourage you to sign up on our website to continue to receive this newsletter quarterly.

MEET RYDER!

Say hello to Ryder! This tough fighter is three years old. Ryder is battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Ryder’s cancer journey began in November 2019. At the time, he was 19 months old. Ryder was in and out of the hospital for nine months with unexplainable fevers, low blood levels, and petechiae. On August 1, 2020 Ryder had his fourth bone marrow biopsy performed. It was during this biopsy that doctors detected he had 85% Leukemia cells.

Ryder spent the following 136 days inpatient in the hospital where he received four rounds of chemotherapy. During his hospital stay, Ryder caught a Staff infection in his PICC line as well as another infection in his port. Ryder was bedridden the final two weeks of his hospital stay due to a persistent 104 fever and osteomyelitis. We are happy to say that Ryder has been out of the hospital since December 2020 and is currently in remission!

Ryder loves cars, trucks, and superheroes. He chose the nickname "RyRy" for his CKSC jersey.

Ryder’s mom shares, “He is my hero.”

MEET KARALYN!

This beautiful young lady is 14 years old. Karalyn is battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Karalyn was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on September 11, 2018. She was declared in remission on September 12, 2020.

Several months back, a scan showed that Karalyn had enlarged nodes at level 2 of her neck and prominent nodes at level 3 of her neck. In early November, Karalyn underwent surgery to remove and biopsy all of the enlarged nodes found in her neck, along with ensuring there were none in her chest. Surgery went well and her family was relieved to receive a wonderful report. The largest node was a fatty tumor/tissue and all the other nodes were benign. There was no sign of cancer!

Karalyn was an avid soccer player prior to this past year when chemotherapy took its toll on her ability to last an entire game. She has always played forward and was one of the leading scorers in every game for her team.

BIG BUFFALO 50

Registration is now open for the 5th annual Big Buffalo 50 taking place on March 26, 2022! The race will be held at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, TN. This race is our biggest fundraiser of the year and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the kids and families who are part of the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club Organization.

If you are interested in running, CLICK HERE for registration details.

We are so thankful for the many volunteers who help to make this event a success! If you or someone you know may be interested in volunteering on race day, CLICK HERE to sign-up!

It is such a privilege to be able to put on this event for such a great cause and we are excited to continue growing this race year after year. The runners and the Memphis community have shown us incredible support and none of this would be possible without them! For sponsorship opportunities CLICK HERE.

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

The Cancer Kickers Soccer Club continues year after year to have some of the most dedicated and inspiring volunteers. For this edition’s “Volunteer of the Month,” we’d like to introduce you to the 2012 Lady Legends. This team is coached by Ted Bartels.

This special group of young ladies comprised of third and fourth and graders were looking for a way to make an impact in the community during their end of the year soccer party in December 2021. They reached out to our team asking if we could host their party at our office. Of course, we were eager to make it happen!

Upon arrival, the girls were given a tour of the CKSC office and learned about our mission. They then spent time writing comfort cards to our teammates. This was followed by dinner and the celebration of a wonderful soccer season! In addition to volunteering their time, the Lady Legends also made a generous donation to the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club.

We are grateful for these girls and their beautiful hearts. We know that the notes of encouragement they wrote during their time spent at the CKSC office brought joy and smiles to numerous Cancer Kicker teammates.

A YEAR IN REVIEW

2021 TEAM STAT SHEET

Over the past year, donors like you helped us make the following impact:

2,000+ comfort cards created by hand and mailed
1,600 birthday cards sent
640 soccer kits shipped both nationally and internationally
640 birthday blankets provided

NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDERS

As we begin 2022, we are preparing for our biggest fundraiser of the year, the 5th annual Big Buffalo 50 Ultra Marathon, which benefits the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club. Every dollar of the race entry fee goes directly to support our teammates! If you are local, please consider joining us on March 26 as a runner or a volunteer. We are looking forward to it being a fun day full of competition and community as we support the Cancer Kickers!