5 minute read
Impact & Give Back
BY LIESEL SCHMIDT
For millions of people around the world, “cancer” is a word that has shaken the very foundation of their reality, snaking its vice-like grip around their lives and holding on with everything it has. Advances of modern medicine have made incredible inroads into treatments that slow its growth and even destroy it, but it’s still too much a threat—and one that, until it is completely eradicated, will still cast a cloud over humanity.
Seeing no age, no sex, no economic status, cancer is a great equalizer, though we often forget just how aggressively it can target even someone young and healthy. For Kelly O’Mahoney, a collegiate soccer player at Mississippi College who competed in a beauty pageant and maintained an impressive GPA, cancer was never even on her radar, until a diagnosis of brain cancer in 2013. One year and one month after being diagnosed, Kelly lost her battle, and so began another one—one that was taken up by her parents and loved ones as they took up arms in an effort to keep others from suffering the same loss.
Created in 2015, Kelly O’Mahoney, Inc.—more widely known as Kelly Kicking Cancer—was formed in Kelly’s honor by Susan and Larry O’Mahoney, along with a group of their friends. “Kelly had so much life in her, and so much to live for,” says Susan. “She was such a fighter! We did not want her passing to be in vain, and we want to keep other people from going through the tragedy that we experienced. That was the inspiration for creating the organization, and that is still what drives us. That is our mission: Honoring Kelly O'Mahoney's life and spirit by funding research to eradicate brain cancer.” Through donations made to the Kenneth R. Peak Brain and Pituitary center at Houston Methodist Hospital, Kelly Kicking Cancer helps fund cutting edge brain cancer research, thereby helping numerous cancer patients. Since 2015, the organization has donated over $250,000. “I think working with the scientists and doctors to promote brain cancer research and finding a cure for brain cancer is incredibly important,” says Susan. “I am very proud of the work that we are doing to make people aware of brain cancer and to raise funding for brain cancer research. Every day that we do this, every dollar that we raise, we are honoring our daughter and fighting for other daughters and sons.”
As they carry on the work of their mission, the team at Kelly Kicking Cancer faces the challenges of any nonprofit as well as some very personal ones. “It is very difficult to talk about your child dying,” Susan admits. “My husband was our spokesperson and really did a great job, but he passed away two years ago. So now I have a lot more responsibility to the organization and furthering its mission in both of their names. It was something that was very important to us, so now it is even more important to me. Raising money is never easy, but our community has been very generous.”
For Kelly Kicking Cancer, putting 100 percent of their efforts and the money they collect into the cause is an important aspect of the way the organization operates. “We collect money and donate it directly to the people who are working on a cure for cancer,” Susan explains. “We have no overhead, and our whole nonprofit organization is based on volunteers.
We have no paid members. All of our funding comes from donations and fundraisers, and people know exactly where their money is going when they make a donation. We have a gala every year, and Doctor Baskin, who leads the research, sends a video that we show, thanking us for the donation and telling us exactly what they are doing with it. I believe that, with our help and funding, they will find a cure for cancer.”
Through events including an annual Shamrock Sprint 5K and one mile Fun Run every March as well as a gala in November, Kelly Kicking Cancer offers opportunities for the community to be an active part of the organization and bring in even more donations. Naturally, COVID created challenges, but they kept their eyes steady on their goals. “We have had to change our events to virtual events for the past year and a half,” Susan notes. “But this coming March 12th, we are having our first in person 5K since COVID began. It will be held at the Covington Trailhead at 8 AM on March 12th.”
As they forge ahead, Kelly O’Mahoney, Inc., delivers kicks to the disease that will, hopefully, one day sink the defining goal, winning the last match to defeat cancer forever.
For more information, visit kellykickingcancer.org.
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