All posts by Raishad Peoples

Cornhole Tournament, Photo Gallery

Cornhole Tournament & Super Bowl Raffle Drawing

Thank you to all who joined us for our 2023 Cornhole Tournament Fundraiser – big congrats to our Top Team winners!

Thank You to our Tournament Sponsor Simply Divine Decorating and to all of our bracket sponsors: GeoYeti, Cupcake Heaven, Next Generation Communications, Stoneberger Garage Doors Unlimited, United Rentals, Hopecam, Minnieland Academy at Heathcote, Prince William Garage Doors, Matt & Jackie Smoot, & The Dunham Family.

Special Thank You to David & Michelle Moffett, J Tred Woodworking, Velocity Wings, Cedar Run Brewery, the Gainesville Grizzlies Youth Football League, and to K-Sports Complex!

And…Super HUGE Congrats to our Super Bowl LVIII Raffle Ticket Winner, Christy G. from Clarksburg, WV!!! 

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Super Bowl Ticket Raffle

Super Ticket Raffle

It’s BACK!!!  We are incredibly excited to announce that Alex’s Army Childhood Cancer Foundation has been so generously gifted TWO Tickets to Super Bowl LVIII to raffle off to one lucky winner!!!  The Super Bowl will be taking place for the first time ever in Las Vegas, Nevada and we know will be an unforgettable experience!

You might remember back in 2018 when we raffled off tickets to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, GA.  Our 2018 winner had a BLAST and said it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience to attend a Super Bowl live!

We are selling a limited number of tickets so your chances to win are greater.  Similar to last time, we will draw the winning ticket LIVE via livestream for all to share in the excitement and watch!

The drawing for this raffle will take place LIVE at our 2023 Cornhole Tournament Fall Fundraiser (check out our Cornhole Tournament on the events section for more details on that!)

From all of us at Alex’s Army CCF – thank you for supporting our mission – we wish you the all the very best of luck!

Photo Gallery, Super Siblings

Summer Bash 2023

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out and joined us this past Sunday for our Summer Bash event.  

A special thank you to Andy Stromberg and the incredible team at Dulles Golf Center & Sports Park, your support of this event from day 1 has been so appreciated and we are thankful to you and your team for helping ensure this event was a success!  

Special shout-out also to the following individuals and businesses who helped support this year’s family & childhood cancer community event:  Mission BBQ, Moo-Thru Ice Cream, Love Wedding & Events + Photo Booth, Nana’s Facepainting, Craft Basket & the Cassarino Family, to our Driving for a Cure Tournament Golfers who so generously sponsored holes on this event’s Putt-Putt course: Steve Bloom & Family, Tim Moorstein & Family, to this year’s event planners Heather Kuzma & Liz Bush, to our photographers Raishad Peoples & Hollie Piraino, & as always to all of our amazing volunteers!

Our hearts are full from all the fun that we had at our first ever Summer Bash!  We played, we ate, we caught up with so many awesome kiddos, we played putt-putt, found some super cool gems while gemstone mining, hit a few balls in the batting cages, we took cute & silly photo booth pics, made some beautiful sand art, had a treat or two (another double scoop anyone?) – and we did it all true Luau style with smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts!

Below are photos from this year’s event including a few photos from the photo booth fun! 


Additionally, we were sad that our favorite music man Cliff Ziarno & his company Backflip Cat Productions couldn’t make it – we do love the playlist and hope you did too from this year’s event!  Spotify users can check it out here:

Last but certainly not least – Thank you to all of Alex’s Army for your support of our mission. Through your donations and generous support of our foundation, we are able to host events like these to support families and all those impacted by childhood cancers.

It truly takes an ARMY to fight Childhood Cancers…together we are an Alex’s Army and we are making a difference in the lives of children fighting cancer and their families!

Want to support this and other Alex’s Army family events?  Make your tax-deductible donation by clicking here!

Be sure to follow us on social media at @alexsarmyccf

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Couples Retreat

Couples Retreat

In 2019 Alex’s Army held our first ever Couples Retreat. Alex’s mom & dad know firsthand the hardships that a marriage can go through when you have a child with a medical condition and they feel blessed to be able to provide an opportunity for other moms & dads to have a space to take time for each other. This event was formed to provide an opportunity for couples to come alongside other couples who know these challenges and also to provide a weekend away for reconnection, rest, and of course a little pampering! The weekend for couples includes a Couples Connect session which is an opportunity for the couples to meet and join in fellowship with each other, followed by a nice dinner and social time. There is ample free time also where couples have the opportunity to be pampered with a couples massage, take walks around the beautiful and tranquil paths of Poplar Springs Manor, spend time relaxing by the pool, and of course overnight accommodations as the Poplar Springs Inn.

Alex’s Army provides this event FREE for our moms & dads thanks to our generous donors and supporters! While we were unable to host this event in 2020-2021 due to COVID, we believe in the need for this event and it is our hope to be able to host this event annually as long as we are able.

If you’d like to make a donation to specifically support of our Couples Retreat events, please use the below donation link to do so. The cost of the weekend retreat for one couple is $400, a donation of that amount will sponsor a couple to attend OR a donation of any amount helps! All donations are greatly appreciated and will be allocated towards the continuation of providing this event for our families.

Couples Retreat, Photo Gallery

2023 Couples Retreat

In 2023 we hosted an intimate group of 9 couples who shared time with each other re-connecting, were able to spend time with other parents who know the marital challenges that come along with having a child who has had to fight cancer. The weekend was once again such a blessing to all!

Special thank you to Bernadette & Kevin, Connor’s mom and dad who helped make our 2023 retreat amazing once again!  To our dynamic duo of Alex’s Army Photographers – Raishad & Hollie – for capturing beautiful pics for our couples to take home and treasure. Thank you to Jennifer Goeller, Lily’s mama, at Cedar Lake Farm for donating the super sweet honey and beautiful bouquet flowers for our couples welcome baskets.  Thank you to Niko’s mama @Nikzo Creations who created beautiful, personalized couples gifts once again!  Thank you to our friends at Denim & Pearls for helping us to host an amazing offsite dinner experience and to the always beautiful Poplar Springs Inn and Spa for helping us host yet another wonderful event!

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Driving for a Cure, Photo Gallery

2023 Driving for a Cure

On Monday, May 15th 2023 we held our 8th Annual Driving for a Cure Golf Tournament at Dominion Valley Country Club in Haymarket, VA.

We couldn’t have asked for a better weather day and we are so thankful to each and every one of our Sponsors, Golfers, Donors, and Volunteers who joined us once again for this fundraiser event to make a difference for families who know what it’s like to watch their child fight cancer!

Special Thank You once again to this year’s Tournament Sponsor Chick-fil-A of Haymarket & VA Gateway!

Congratulations to our Top Teams and Contest Winners:
1st Place Team: Gary Thomey, Patrick Winslow, Mike Winslow, Jeff Winslow, Teddy Greene

2nd Place Team: Scott Walker, Josh Walker, Charles McCormick, Kevin Kuzma

3rd Place Team: TC Robinson, JR Deering, Dale Tyson, and Sam Hollen

Hackers’ Award Team: Jacob Green, Travis Green, Kam Franklin, Casey Ruland

Super Putt Contest Winner: Travis Green

Longest Drive Male: JR Deering

Longest Drive Female: Marie Leibson

Closest to the Pin: Cody Omohundro

Pictures are up, we hope you enjoy all the pics from our 8th Annual Driving for a Cure Golf Tournament! Special thank you to our friends at Love Wedding & Events for donating a super amazing photo booth for all to enjoy! They will ALSO be making an appearance at our 2023 Family Day (see below) and we are so grateful to have their support!

Last but certainly NOT least – at our Driving for a Cure end of tournament banquet this year, we announced an exciting way for our golfers and Driving for a Cure event to directly support our upcoming Family Day for our local families with a child who has fought or is fighting cancer.

We have a limited number of supporter spots left and would love if you would consider making a 100% tax-deductible donation to help us make sure this is an incredible event!

Your $100 donation is so greatly appreciated! In doing so you will receive a small sign on the putt-putt golf course that families will read throughout the day as they play. We will reach out to you once all spots are filled to get the information you’d like for us to include on the signage.

Click the image above or click HERE to support our 2023 Family Day!

Be sure to follow us on social media @alexsarmyccf (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)!

Thank you as always for your support!

Photo booth pictures courtesy of Love & Wedding Events

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Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship

Congratulations to our 2023 Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship Recipients:

We are honored to announce Alex’s Army has awarded Collegiate scholarships to 3 beautiful and inspirational athletes who have each battled cancer: Evelyn “Evie” Cranston, Faith McKinney and Tara Sankner each received a $3,000 scholarship towards their college expenses.

About the Scholarship Recipients:

Evelyn Cranston is a St. John’s College HS student and soccer player who was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer at the age of 14.

Evie is a light to be around and has a way of bringing out the best in others. While she didn’t see her diagnosis as a blessing at the time, Evie says this about her diagnosis, “In a way, I have become grateful for my experience with cancer – it has helped me evolve into the person I am today and will continue to be a part of how I grow into the person I want to be.”

Faith McKinney was diagnosed with Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans (DFSP) which is a very raretype of soft tissue sarcoma at the age of 12.

Faith is a gymnast at Battlefield HS where she also maintains a 4.3 GPA. Five years prior to her own diagnosis, Faith had starting participating and volunteering in a gymnastics fundraiser called “Flip for the Fight”. She loved helping others any way she could and found that participating in her favorite sport to support charity was a win-win! When Faith was diagnosed fighting cancer became even more personal and she saw first-hand what other kids and teens fighting cancer go through. “This situation continues to challenge my mental toughness but also strengthens my ability to deal with adversity and address it with a positive attitude.”

Tara Sankner is a Chantilly HS softball player. Tara was diagnosed with an Astrocytoma Grade 2 Brain Tumor at the age of 8.

Tara spent a lot of her childhood in and out of hospitals. “I didn’t have many sleepovers as “normal” kids because I was in and out of the hospital throughout my childhood. However I was always comforted by a group of other cancer patients facing similar circumstances where our futures were often a mystery. Faced with the uncertainty of life, I decided at an early age that I was going to not only finish High School and be the first in my family to attend college, but I am going to embrace life and help others through life in law enforcement or social services.” Tara will graduate from Chantilly HS this spring and has committed to Old Dominion University in the fall with a major in Criminology.