All posts by Raishad Peoples

Photo Gallery, Strength in Numbers/Awareness Event

Thank You for your support – Awareness Event 2022

On Sunday, May 15th, our Foundation attempted 1 more time to break an Official Guinness World Records title as part of our Childhood Cancer Awareness & Support event and wow – what a day it was!

While unfortunately, we did NOT break the Official Guinness World Record for Most people performing push-ups Sunday…we did something very special and I believe I can speak for all who were a part of it…they will not soon forget the day.

Once again, we came close with roughly 1,100 people in attendance – we just were not close enough to break that darn record. It would be easy to get discouraged as really getting 2,000 people together for an actual Guinness World Record attempt honoring families impacted by childhood
cancers and the honored heroes of our community – should not be that hard. But when you have the opportunity to be part of an event like this, when we have the opportunity to host an event like this – it’s truly not about the record at all. It’s so much more. Like some have said, breaking the record would have been icing on the cake – but the
cake was pretty darn good!

The skies opened up and the sun shone brightly down all day so that the flyover from our friends the Glory Hounds could happen not just once but several times – one of which created the shape of a heart over all of the honored families, our honored heroes, and all in attendance!

We had over 20 families participate from our area join us both in the ceremony and others amongst the crowd on the field who were celebrated and honored by all who were there.

We filled our last minute goal for Stewards which was a gift as that alone seemed to be an uphill battle that came in the last week of preparations for the event! Thank you to Park Valley Church and all who came to join us at the last minute to fill this need! You are truly amazing and we are so thankful.

The Tug-of-War teams from Battlefield (aka Champions of the Field????), Gainesville, Brentsville, and Patriot all really had a blast and we had a blast watching and cheering them all along! Thank you again to our friends at Sweet Julia Grace for lending us the rope from their Adult Field Day the day prior!

Huge Congrats to team Battlefield and to all the participating teams – which reminds us to ask – did the losing teams really get in that dunk tank???

Below are the winners of our Event Raffles:

  • Winner of the Insignia TV goes to MaryBeth Michel!
  • Winner of $250 Smoothie King Gift Card goes to Susan Wallace!
  • Winner of A Year of Chick-fil-A (52 meal cards) goes to Bridie Sheehan!
  • Winner of A Year of Chick-fil-A KIDS (52 kids meal cards) goes to Danica Davis!

All winners will be contacted via email to claim their prizes!!!
Congrats all!

Thank you to all our amazing sponsors and supporters of this event. We truly could not do what we do without your support and we are so thankful.

Thank you to all our volunteers, our planning team, to our Guinness World Record Adjucator who was awesome – to our Minion, Cavman, and Chick-fil-A Cow who ALL 3 joined in doing push-ups!

Finally, thank you to Scott Sikes Photography for capturing pictures from the entire day!

Below are just a few, but you can see all pictures here:
Full Photo Gallery courtesy of Scott Sikes

As mentioned at the event every dollar raised from this event will be allocated towards our 2022 Research Fund. If you’d like to make a donation, Donate

We do have some leftover EVENT specific apparel, get yours before midnight June 17th, go to Temporary Merchandise Shop!

Thank you again to everyone who contributed to making this event wonderful in every way!

Remember – no matter what it is you are going through, you are never alone, you are loved, and you have an ARMY behind you every step of the way!

It takes an ARMY to fight childhood cancer….
Together we are Alex’s Army!

Strength in Numbers/Awareness Event

Guinness World Record Attempt 2022

For Alex’s Army & NoVA Childhood Cancer Families

This is a childhood cancer awareness event.  We are creating a banner (or a few banners) with “Our Reasons Why” including pictures of local childhood cancer kiddos to honor your child and to show our community that childhood cancer is not rare.  If your child would like to be included on this banner you can do so in 2 ways.  IF you’re able to attend the event, simply sign up using the registration link above and indicate you would like more information about participating in the ceremony part of the event.  If you are not able to attend the event, send us an email through our Contact Us page and someone will reach out to you to get your child’s info and photo. All photos & info will need to be  submitted to us by April 15th to be included on the banner.

Have questions about the event?  Click on register and check-out the FAQs section in the Eventbrite sign-up!  Feel free to reach out if you still have questions afterward!

SPREAD THE WORD!  Follow us on social and help spread the word for this event!!!

Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship

Congratulations 2022 Scholarship Recipients

Drum roll or better yet STADIUM noise please…

Please join us in wishing a HUGE congratulations to all of our Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship Recipients for 2022:

Caoilinn McLane (Aldie, VA)
Penelope Miller (Crofton, MD)
PJ Fuentes (San Jose, CA)
Mia Gatanaga (Salinas, CA)
Emily Knisley (Vienna, VA)
Bo Clark (Gig Harbor, WA)
Haley Watkins (San Leandro, CA)
Martin Souza (Culpeper, VA)

Reading through the essays and recommendation letters of all the applicants was so touching and inspirational. We cannot wait to share the stories for all of the above scholarship recipients over the coming month. Their strength, determination, love for their respective sports and life itself are so powerful, we are honored to be able to be a small part of each of their journeys.

This year we were able to award a whopping total of $12,000 in this years scholarships! It is thanks to the support of our community but also especially to participants of our Bucket-a-Thon events that we are able to offer scholarships to athletes impacted by a childhood cancer diagnosis.

Thank you to all who support our mission and who continue to be a part of Alex’s Army so that together we can make a difference in the lives of children (and athletes) whos lives are forever changed by a childhood cancer diagnosis!

Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship

Enrollment for 2022 Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship is now open

Enrollment for the Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarships is officially open!

We will be accepting applications for the 2022 scholarships from February 1st through March 15th and will award scholarship recipients in April of this year.  Prior to printing the application, please be sure to thoroughly read the application guidelines found on this page to check for qualifications, important submission information, FAQs, and more. 

Guidelines

Application

More about scholarship here.

Fundraising Events, Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship

BHS Bucket-A-Thon

This past Saturday, Battlefield High School Bobcats Basketball held our first ever Bucket-A-Thon event at the high school level and collectively raised $12,127.00 for their BHS Boosters AND for our Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarships!!!

We are thrilled to announce our Bucket-A-Thon program and would LOVE to work with additional schools and organizations down the road. We believe that by partnering together we can make a difference for the programs we work with AND for athletes whose lives are forever changed by a childhood cancer diagnosis.

Learn more about our Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarships here, the application period for our 2022 scholarships opens Feb. 1!

If you’re interested in learning how your school or org can host your own Bucket-A-Thon to mutually benefit your needs and Alex’s Army, please don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more!

Below are pictures from the BHS Bucket-A-Thon from Saturday, Jan. 22nd. Special thank you to Chick-Fil-A Haymarket and all the donors for your support. Great job to the Battlefield Bobcats Basketball teams and all the best of luck for the rest of the season!

« ‹ of 2 › »
Events, Photo Gallery

Battlefield High School Homecoming and GoldOut football game

Friday night Alex’s Army was honored to once again be at the Battlefield High School Homecoming and GoldOut football game!

There are so many stories to tell in each one of these pictures…it’s overwhelming to get to see the amazing community and kids at BHS come out and support their peers fighting cancer. From Alex’s friends and cousins (now seniors) supporting other peers, childhood cancer survivors & other fighters supporting their peers, to just seeing kids ask us about the kids fighting and truly wanting to learn more and help, it was a powerful evening in many ways!

There was lots of love for our sweet friend Kendall – a BHS student who is almost finished with her treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. As we know fighting cancer takes away so many things…and Kendall was so bummed to miss Homecoming, but her classmates made sure to send her a TON of LOVE so she knew she is LOVED and that she has an army behind her every step of the way!

Childhood Cancer Survivor Brodie Carroll #33 carried the American Flag and led his team out onto the field Friday night. On his sleeves he wrote Ryland Strong, AG for our Alex, and For All Kids. He is a beast on the field but off the field is is one of the sweetest, most compassionate faith-filled kids you might ever meet.

His mom shared “Even at a young age Brodie understands the gravity of the gift he’s been given. He doesn’t take that lightly and goes full throttle in everything he does. He also holds tightly those we should remember, he doesn’t forget.

We have a TON of pics from the game, thank you to everyone who stopped by our tent to show Kendall some love & to join us in taking a stand in the fight against childhood cancer!

No Images found.

Other Events, Photo Gallery

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month & Alex’s Army is going GOLD!!!

It’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month & Alex’s Army is going GOLD!!!

As our good friends with Team Mathias do in the Town of Leesburg VA year after year, we have once again for the 4th year in a row decorated our Town of Haymarket with Gold bows up and down Washington street. We were honored to have our Town of Haymarket Mayor Ken Luersen and Town Councilman Joe Pasanello join us!

This year thanks to the support of our friends at Grizzly Sports Complex, while we weren’t able to hold our Annual Alex’s Army Bowl Games (stay tuned til next year!) we were able to turn the sports complex Gold as well!

This tradition has become one of our favorites in that it truly is such a special thing to be a part of. We hang the ribbons each year not only to raise awareness, but also as a symbol of our love for all of the families whose lives are forever impacted by a childhood cancer diagnosis. We hang these gold ribbons to stand united with families walking this difficult path so they know they are not alone in their fight and that ours is a community that cares.

Be sure to check back on our website for more pictures of tonight’s ribbon hanging!

Special thank you to the Haymarket Town Hall for allowing us to do this each year and by supporting us even more by joining us in our efforts! Thank you to Photography By Trisha for capturing the Haymarket team and to Hollie Farrish Piraino for capturing the Grizzly team.

A super big THANK YOU to our sweet friend Nicole at Salsa Sweets for donating the delicious gold ribbon cookies for our volunteers and some of our families we were delivering gifts to this week. And thank you as always to all of our families and volunteers who came out to help us once again paint the town GOLD!

There are lots of things going on in September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. More kids than you would want to believe in your community and all over our country are impacted by childhood cancers. Get involved and join us in raising awareness this month and all year long!

« ‹ of 2 › »
Driving for a Cure, Photo Gallery, Thanks

2021 Driving for a Cure

Thank you so much to everyone who made our 6th Annual Driving for a Cure Golf Tournament a huge success!  While the temps were hot, our golfers, volunteers, and sponsors were as amazing as always and contributed to another fun day of golf!

Together we raised a whopping $36,486.83 towards our mission!!! 

We’d like to once again thank our Tournament Sponsor Thrivent Financial Dulles Group for their support and incredible generosity in sponsoring our event.  From handing out extra waters/snacks on the turn to raffling off their own Yeti cooler to raise additional funds – each year they have been a proud supporter and we are grateful for Marty, Dave, Kim & group!

Thank you to all of our Sponsors:  Brilliant Remodeling / Mosaic, Branscome Paving Company, A1 FloodTech, Brown & Brown Insurance, Cardinal Business Products, Chick-fil-A, Dewberry, EastCoast Insulators, Ennis Electric, FVC Bank, GD Flight Ops, General Dynamics, Greco Masonry, Haymarket Kings Basketball Team, Invisible Fence Brand by Clark Associates, Jennifer Young Homes, One Hot Mess, Park Valley Church, Patriot Auto Glass, Primis, R&S Services, RHOLC, Superior Paving, & The Thomey Family.

Thank you to our friend Niko’s dad Juan for joining us and sharing their families story with all of us.  We know Juan touched many hearts and what he did isn’t always easy to do.  Please keep the entire Chavarriaga family in your thoughts and prayers as we know too well that a cancer diagnosis is life-changing, we pray for Niko’s continued good health and healing from all he & his family have been through over the last few years.

Thank you to all of our in-kind donors who helped contribute toward auction and raffle items, our awesome team of volunteers, all our participants, and of course to the staff and team at Piedmont Golf Club. Each of you contribute to the success of this event year after year, and we are so grateful.

And a big Thank You once again to our Golf Tournament Director Franz Ferstl for 6 years’ of awesome events!  We wish you, Leslie, & your family all the best in the next chapter of your lives together!

Congratulations to the following teams for placing in this years event:
1st Place
Bryce Corbett, Tate Corbett, Gavin Furlong, Austin Nevins

2nd Place
Todd Keener, Tony Gourley, Steve Hardt, Tim Juran

3rd Place
David Branscome Jr., Thomas Whitsman, Josh Baird, Cody Reeves

And of course to the recipients of our first ever Hackers Award:
Steve Bloom, Ernest Bush, Charlie Patten, Chris Pool

Congrats to our contest winners:
Longest Drive
Ladies – Beth Foster
Mens – Bryce Corbett

Closest to the Pin
Nick Yates

Closest to the Pin
Jason Brunetti

We hope you enjoy the pictures from this event – shout out to Raishad & Hollie along with a few of you who tagged us in your own pics on social media!

« ‹ of 6 › »
Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship

2021 Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship Winners

Today, April 8, 2021, Alex’s Army is proud to announce the winners of our Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship in loving memory of two incredible athletes, George Mason University All-American center fielder Nakoma Sours (#3) and our own Alex Green (#41 / #52). These scholarships recognize athletes whose lives were forever changed by a childhood cancer diagnosis but who inspire those around them every step of the way through their love for sport, their determination, strength, courage, and athletic spirit – just as Alex and Nakoma did throughout their lives. 

On our Alex’s 17th birthday, Alex’s Army is honored and incredibly proud to announce we have selected three (3) scholarship award winners for 2021. Alex’s Army will award scholarships totaling $4,800 to Samuel Becker, Justin Brown and Devin Hutcheson — three athletes whose lives were impacted by a childhood cancer diagnosis, but continue to mentor, inspire, and make a positive impact on the community around them.

About the Scholarship Recipients:

Samuel Becker is a Senior at Sherwood High School. He was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in October 2013 when he was 10 years old.

Prior to his diagnosis, Sam was an avid soccer player that loved the spirit of competition. After undergoing cancer treatments and suffering through several serious complications, Sam was unable to compete in the same way with his peers on the soccer field. Through over seven years of hospital visits, recovery and physical therapy, Sam bonded with his family and friends by watching hockey and cheering on the Washington Capitals but was missing the opportunity to play sports. Soon he was introduced to the dynamic and challenging sport of sled hockey, where he rekindled his competitive nature and discovered a supportive community of fellow athletes.   

Sam has developed into a leader on and off the ice and hopes to continue competing in sled hockey as he goes on to college.

Justin Brown is a Senior at Battlefield High School. Justin’s diagnosis of Craniopharyngioma Brain Tumor came at the age of 2 in February 2005.

Justin’s passion for baseball began when he was adopted by the James Madison Baseball team through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. As a crafty sidearm pitcher, Justin played baseball for 15 seasons in the Gainesville Haymarket Baseball League. In addition, Justin has been a member of the Archery teams at Ronald Reagan Middle School and Battlefield High School, including being a part of State, National and World Championship archery teams.

Justin has suffered through many serious complications since his cancer diagnosis, but has remained an inspiration to his family, friends, and teammates.

Devin Hutcheson is a Freshman at Messiah University. Devin was diagnosed with Stage 3 T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in December 2016 at the age of 16.

Devin played soccer for Battlefield High School his freshman year and was on the team the next three years but his on-field impact was limited due to ongoing effects of his treatments. However, he inspired his teammates by enduring many cold days on the sideline suffering from chemotherapy treatments to be there in support of his team.

Because Devin’s dream to play college soccer was taken from him, he pursued another passion, art.  Devin’s work has been featured in the Piedmont Lifestyle Publication, “Spray Painting a Reimagined Life” and at the Haymarket Medical Center Community Gallery.

Devin is a very talented up and coming artist that is currently majoring in Studio Art with a concentration in two-dimensional painting.

About the Scholarship

Through our Alex’s battle with cancer, we were always amazed at how he persevered with incredible determination, strength, and courage.  From an early age Alex was motivated by competition and was a natural athlete in every sport he tried.  Whether it was soccer, flag football, basketball, or t-ball (and he tried them all), he never ceased to amaze those around him at how natural of an athlete he was.  After his paralysis at the age of 7, one of the first things he did when he arrived at the rehabilitation hospital was get in a sled to test out sled hockey.  In rehab, he was introduced to adult rugby, lacrosse, sled hockey and wheelchair basketball – pretty much anything they could offer he wanted to do it but he had an undeniable passion for sled hockey and wheelchair basketball.  He competed in National Tournaments and traveled with his teams to New York, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and several other neighboring states for competition.  Often, sports were his motivation through treatment.  Whether it was scheduling chemo treatments early so he could make basketball in the afternoon, or setting his alarm to do 20 pushups every day to keep in shape so he could compete – Alex had an incredible athletic spirit, a love for sports and his teammates which was evident to everyone who met him. 

25 years ago, on September 30th, the George Mason University women’s softball team tragically lost one of their players in a car accident.  Nakoma Dawn Sours also lived her life with a passion for competition and an unbreakable will to push towards excellence always striving to be the best on and off the field.  She inspired others to be better and pushed her teammates to excel.  Nakoma achieved many accolades as a GMU Patriot – to this day she holds the single season record in runs scored and walks, she sits second in on-base percentage and 3rd in slugging percentage.  After only playing 2 seasons at GMU, Nakoma is 4th in cumulative steals against women who have competed all four years.  Nakoma was ranked amongst the Nation’s Top 5 all-time in steals and had National honors in on-base percentage.

We announced the start of the Green & Gold Athletic Spirit Scholarship in loving memory of Nakoma on the 25th anniversary of her passing and Alex’s Army will continue awarding this scholarship each year in remembrance of our Alex –on his birthday–whose passion for sports and incredible determination inspired all those who knew him.

The scholarship recognizes athletes whose lives are forever changed by a childhood cancer diagnosis but who inspire those around them every step of the way through their love for sport, their determination, strength, courage, and athletic spirit. 

Thank you to all who applied and congratulations again to our 2021 recipients. We will begin accepting applications for our 2022 Scholarships in February. Check back on this page for future announcements and for next years application guidelines.