THE HUDDLE

Welcome to the 2023 Spring edition of our 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 Leah Faith!

This beautiful little girl is four years old. Leah Faith is battling High Risk Infantile B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

She was first diagnosed with ALL when she was just seven months old. Since then Leah Faith has relapsed twice. The first relapse occurred a mere five days before she was set to ring the bell after two years of receiving treatment. Leah Faith then relapsed a second time in March 2022 only four months later. She underwent a Car-T trial in hopes of reaching remission. This past August Leah Faith had a life-saving stem cell transplant. She has run into several complications post transplant and has spent lots of time inpatient.

Her mom shared with us, “Leah Faith continues to battle every day, but never loses her smile.” She clings to Exodus 14:14 which says, “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

MEET Olly!

This resilient young man is ten

years old. Olly is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Olly was diagnosed with ALL in November 2022. His diagnosis came as a devastating blow to his family. He went from being a well and very active child to wheelchair bound within just a few short months. Towards the end of his first round of treatment Olly became extremely sick which resulted in a hospital stay. He is currently in the midst of intense treatment.

Olly’s mom shared with us, “Despite all of this Olly has shown such strength and courage and makes us smile every day. We are so proud of him and how hard he is battling.” Olly is a huge soccer fan and is looking forward to the day he can play again.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

2023 Big Buffalo 50 Ultra Marathon Recap

On Saturday, March 25th, we hosted the 6th annual Big Buffalo 50 Ultra Marathon at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, TN. Despite the mud from the previous day's storms, it was a fantastic event marked by healthy competition, beautiful scenery, a diverse selection of food trucks, Wiseacre beer, a bounce house for the kiddos, and a tailgate-like atmosphere that made for a fun-filled day for the whole family.

As always, 100% of the proceeds from this race go directly to supporting the kids and families of The Cancer Kickers Soccer Club, making this race our largest fundraiser each year. In fact, the Big Buffalo 50 raised enough funds this year to sponsor 123 kids as teammates in the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club, providing them with the comfort, community, and connections they need to continue their battle with cancer.

We are sincerely grateful to all of the runners who participated in the race, the volunteers who gave their time to help it go smoothly, and our community sponsors who supported us in our efforts to bring the Memphis running community another stellar event. Plans are already underway for next year's race, so stay tuned for that date.

NOTABLE & NEWSWORTHY

The Cancer Kickers Soccer Club was honored to be chosen as Chick-fil-A Midsouth's March Community Champion in partnership with News Action 5. Chick-fil-A chooses a new nonprofit each month to highlight and promote and we feel privileged to have been selected for this opportunity to further share our mission. Chick-fil-A is committed to partnering with nonprofits in their community in an effort to promote and enhance them and we are thrilled with the chance to have reached a wider audience with our mission to fight cancer with teamwork. Please click on the link below to see the promotional ad we are featured in.

DONOR OF THE MONTH

Thermon Knighton is the owner of the UPS Store at Exeter in Germantown, TN, and a loyal donor and overall supporter of the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club since its early days. Perhaps it's because, as the primary shipper, he sees firsthand how many welcome kits we send out to our teammates and how far our impact reaches. With shipments to Peachtree Corners, Georgia, Republika Srpska, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, and beyond, Thermon helps us reach our teammates all across the globe. When asked why he supports the Cancer Kickers Soccer Club, he says: "It's a worthy organization in our local community that has a big impact worldwide and I'm happy to play a small role in the process of helping kids fight cancer with teamwork". We are grateful to Thermon for both his support as a small business owner and as an individual and we couldn't do what we do without his help.

NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDERS

I know this is a stat that many of you will already be familiar with, but as we deliver this email to your inbox today, there will be 47 families in the U.S. alone receiving the diagnosis that their child has some form of cancer. In fact, every year, 1.8 million families hear these words. It is an impossible number for me to wrap my head around. Even with the overwhelming majority of these diagnoses ending in remission, it is an unfathomable truth to process.

While there is nothing we do at CKSC that is going to reduce that number or even lead toward better treatment, earlier diagnosis, or eventual cure, what we can do and are doing is focusing on the positive mindset and the creation of a loving, connected community of teammates. With today's note, I wanted to make one simple request: That each of you reading this message take a moment and support one of the many organizations working diligently to continue to reduce and one day eliminate this debilitating disease. More funding is needed at every level of the fight against childhood cancer including our little corner of the world. We would love your support but would love it even more if everyone simply supported the fight against childhood cancer today in some way. Spring is a time for growth and if we can increase funding in the fight against childhood cancer, we could be one step closer to a 100% success rate in the fight. Thank you and God bless.