THE HUDDLE

Welcome to the 2022 Winter 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 Haley!

This strong young lady is 11 years old. Haley battled Bilateral Retinoblastoma.

Haley was diagnosed with cancer on March 13, 2012 at five months of age. Immediately after diagnosis, Haley underwent surgery to remove her eye due to the fact that the retina had completely detached leaving her in excruciating pain and also making the cancer very susceptible to spreading. She was told by doctors that there was a good chance she would lose her second eye as well, leaving her completely blind. Haley responded very well to treatment resulting in her tumor disappearing entirely. Doctors informed Haley and her family that the tumor would likely return. We are overjoyed to share that Hayley has been in remission for the past 10 years with no sign of a return tumor.

Haley beat all odds and is currently living her life to the fullest! She is a very active young lady. Haley enjoys playing as a forward on her hometown soccer team! Her mother shared, “I never thought I would see this day. I’m so proud of her and everything she’s doing.”

MEET Aidan!

This outstanding little boy is six years old. Aiden is battling High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Aiden was diagnosed with AML in June 2022. He began receiving chemotherapy treatments shortly after his diagnosis. In addition, Aiden was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, he was unable to find a perfect donor match. However, his mom was a 50% match. She was more than willing to donate her bone marrow seeing as how the deadline for a transplant was closing in. Aiden received the transplant this past October. He and his family remained inpatient for two months following the transplant in order for doctors to closely monitor him.

Aiden loves dinosaurs, monster trucks, and playing video games. He was described by his mom as, “the strongest guy I know!”

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

COLLEGE PLAYER VOLUNTEERS

This past fall both the University of Memphis men’s soccer team and the Southwest Tennessee Community College women’s soccer team visited our office to learn about our mission and to help us write comfort cards for our teammates. It was a privilege to give these individuals a behind-the-scenes look at the work we do and to share stories about the amazing kids we support. We are grateful to both teams for taking time out of their busy schedules to spend the afternoon volunteering with us!

UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS' ALUMNI WEEKEND EVENT

The Cancer Kickers Soccer Club partnered with the University of Memphis men’s soccer team for their alumni weekend which took place October 21 & 22 of 2022. Our founder, Chris Clothier, spoke at the alumni dinner Friday night and the team sported Cancer Kickers warmup shirts before their game against FAU on Saturday. It was a privilege to be a part of such a special weekend and was fun to witness a Memphis Tigers win!

NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDERS

Seven years ago, Michelle and I embarked on a journey that had been a dream of ours for many years. Our hope was to have a positive impact on kids who are battling childhood cancer. We recently shipped out our 2,000th kit and feel incredibly honored to be a part of every teammate’s journey. As we wrap up yet another year, we simply want to say “Thank You”. Thank you for being a part of our team, whether it’s as a teammate or their loved ones, a volunteer, or a donor. God Bless.