Zachary Wiley - Spring 2011 Honoree

Present with his family, CW Fund proudly announced Zachary Wiley, 11, of Catonsville, MD as its third honoree during the Loyola Women’s Spring Fling clinic and scrimmage against George Washington on Sunday, April 3rd.

Zachary was diagnosed with stage-4 Burkitt’s lymphoma in August 2009. Although in-patient treatment became his full time focus for several months, Zach’s parents shared stories of doctors kicking the ball around with Zach in the oncology ward halls. Zach is now back at school and is focused on finding his pre-cancer stride and a new team to be a part of.

“We are extremely happy to make the dream of this remarkable young man – and good soccer player – come true,” said Craig Willinger, cancer survivor and founding member of the Craig Willinger Fund. “There is no feeling like helping someone realize their dream and hopefully improving their outlook on life.”

Zachary Wiley and his mother, Jennifer, will travel to San Siro in Milan, Italy, to see AC Milan play Bologna on May 1st. You can follow Zach’s trip on www.cwfund.org.

The Craig Willinger Fund, formed in 2009, seeks to improve the lives of children and young adults stricken with cancer by providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience world-class soccer - both domestically and abroad - and is actively seeking applications for travel this summer to Women’s World Cup in Germany and beyond. For application guidelines, go to www.cwfund.org/application.html.

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Jordyn Farrell - Fall 2010 Honoree

Thanks to a mention by senior writer Grant Wahl in a column on SI.com this past February, news of the Craig Willinger Fund (CWF) quickly spread beyond Baltimore. After reading of CWF’s mission, Jordyn Farrell’s father encouraged her to share her story of survival. Jordyn was diagnosed with dysgerminoma, a type of ovarian cancer, after the discovery of a soccer ball-sized tumor in February 2009, and completed treatment in November 2009 after a recurrence of the disease.

“Soccer (and my team) helped me get through the worst of times”, Jordyn wrote, “but was therapeutic because it remained one of the ‘normal’ things in my life. Soccer allowed me to set goals to achieve in the midst of my treatment…my goal was to be back on the soccer field by February – and I did it!”

CWF found an ideal candidate in Jordyn as their second honoree. Chairman Craig Willinger stated, “The wonderful thing about Jordyn Farrell is she is uncommonly humble and unselfish. She even stated in her application that there were other kids with cancer who deserved to go on a trip more than she did. Her story and her character proved to us, without a doubt, she was a more than worthy candidate.“

The high school senior and her father will travel to Barcelona this November to see FC Barcelona play Villareal at Camp Nou, the largest soccer stadium in Europe.

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Kathryn Hudson - Summer 2010 Honoree

Katy has dedicated 16 years of her life to playing soccer, earning All-County, All-Metro and All-State honors as a goalkeeper at River Hill High School in Columbia, MD, as well as at Division I University of Richmond. She played her final year of eligibility at Virginia Commonwealth University, where Katy is in the process of working towards a master’s degree in social work. While living her dream playing soccer, Katy’s most amazing accomplishment is overcoming a cancer diagnosis in February of 2004. Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, she continued playing soccer through five months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, finding a partner to her dream in Dr. Joseph Wiley, a pediatric oncologist at Sinai Hospital, who tailored Katy’s treatments around her soccer schedule.

Katy stepped up to the role of mentor, when she was introduced to 12-year old Amanda Post, another Sinai cancer patient and aspiring soccer player from Columbia. Despite having the busy schedule of a Division I student-athlete, Katy stayed in contact with Amanda throughout her treatment and through the JV soccer experience at River Hill High School. After Amanda’s cancer relapsed, Katy chose to run a marathon in honor of her friend and cancer buddy, an aspiring marathoner. Katy completed the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon as a member of Team In Training, having raised $11,000 in honor of her friend Amanda. Amanda lost her battle with cancer on May 17, 2009, just two weeks before the San Diego Marathon.