Sophia Feyerabend was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age seven. Sophia attended KyMel Inc’s Camp Hope in 2020 and was a Victory Project Honoree in 2021.
The Victory Project recently made a $5,000 donation to KyMel to support the nonprofit organization’s annual flagship summer camps in central Kansas for families affected by childhood cancer.
The donation is the fourth to be announced in a series of contributions The Victory Project is making across the Kansas City region. An initiative of Sporting KC, The Victory Project unites players, staff, fans and community partners to help children through all of life’s challenges with a particular focus on the following three pillars:
- Enhancing and enriching the lives of children with cancer
- Making the sport of soccer more accessible to children with limited financial resources
- Providing special experiences and unique opportunities to children with disabilities
“Words cannot begin to express our thanks for this generous donation,” said KyMel President Bryan Wohlwend. “These funds will be used to purchase medical supplies for Camp Hope, our camp for kids and teens with cancer. It will also help us provide bus transportation from KC to Camp Hope as well as Camp SIBsational, our camp designed to meet the unique needs of siblings of kids with cancer.
“This donation means all kids facing cancer in the Kansas City area will have the opportunity to attend camp free of charge. Connecting experiences like camp are known to improve the physical and mental well-being of kids affected by life-threatening illnesses. This need has been heightened even more by the pandemic. Thank you for helping us provide this important service to the kids and teens of Kansas City.”
KyMel, Inc’s mission is to provide connecting experiences for families on the cancer journey with an ultimate goal of improving the health of children and adolescents with cancer. Formally established in 2015, the organization’s work first began in 1983 by “Ma” Donna Brown after losing her two children, Kyle and Melani, to cancer.
This summer, KyMel will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Camp Hope, a free week-long summer camp held each June at Camp Aldrich near Claflin, Kan., for youth who have or have had cancer. In addition, KyMel started Camp SIBsational at Camp Wood near Emporia, Kan., in 2019 as the first camp of its kind designed to address the unique needs of siblings of youth with cancer in recognition that cancer affects the entire family.
During the 2020 and 2021 summers when in-person camps were not possible due to the pandemic, Kamp KyMel provided a wide range of virtual camp experiences to bring the joy and connectedness of camp to campers in their home or hospital bed. Sporting Kansas City Director of Youth Soccer Programming Brennan Williams led a virtual soccer camp via Zoom last July that included a behind-the-scenes tour of Children’s Mercy Park and a lesson in juggling a soccer ball as well as a gift box delivered to each camper’s home with a new soccer ball and Sporting Kansas City gear.
To learn more about KyMel, including opportunities to volunteer and donate to the cause, visit kymel.org or follow KyMel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
