September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Do you know that cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 14? In this episode of Hustle & Pro, we’re highlighting stories in Frisco that spread awareness and kindness for kids battling cancer.
Ryan Hollingshead’s way of helping is with Ryan’s NEGU Crew, an effort in partnership with the Jessie Rees Foundation. Ryan, an FC Dallas veteran player, is taking advantage of his platform as an MLS player to give kids and their families a memorable experience and let them know they have people cheering them on as they fight.
Enjoy our discussion with Ryan about Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and explore other episodes of Hustle & Pro.
Show Notes
- [00:51] Jessie Rees Foundation
- [3:25] The story behind NEGU – Never Ever Give Up
- [5:40] Ryan’s NEGU Crew
- [9:45] Other ways to help
- [10:36] Brynn Moore
- [12:20] MLS Works #KickChildhoodCancer
Resources within this episode:
- Jessie Rees Foundation: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
- Ryan Hollingshead: FC Dallas Bio | Twitter: @rmhollingshead
- Kelly Walker: Instagram: @kelly_walkertexas | Twitter: @kelly_walker_TX
Connect with Lifestyle Frisco:
Transcript: (machine-generated)
Welcome to Hustle and Pro season two, talking sports in Frisco from youth to pro. Now here’s your host Kelly Walker.
Kelly:
September is childhood cancer awareness month. It’s the leading cause of death by disease for children under 14. I think it’s great that we, um, shed light on this this month, but I think we need to do a lot more than one month’s worth. So, um, there’s a lot we can do. And we have a special guest joining us today on hustle and pro who is doing more. I’m very stoked to welcome FC Dallas is Ryan Hollingshead, hi, Ryan Kelly. Thanks for having me on yeah, fresh after training. Thank you for zooming with me and talking to me a little bit about what’s going on with what you’re doing for childhood cancer awareness month. So, um, I wonder if we could start with you telling me a little about, um, the Jessie Rees Foundation and what NEGU is?
Ryan:
Yeah, so the Jessie Rees Foundation and their kind of slogan that they’re known by NEGU, which is just, uh, stands for never, ever give up, uh, they’re a childhood cancer awareness kind of nonprofit that I got connected to through one of my good friends, uh, at UCLA at school there who then after he graduated, joined staff at this nonprofit. And so the nonprofit has been, they’re honestly very well known and, and connected very well in the sports world and the athlete world. So, uh, they’ve got, you know, NFL players that support them. They’ve got a lot of MLS players that support them, MBA, uh, college football. So they’ve kind of just spread through, um, through what they stand for and then through the different connections they have with the members of their staff. So a lot of, you know, X UCLA players or USC players. They’re based down in orange County in California. So I know a lot of their connections come through that, but yeah,
Kelly:
I didn’t realize that was your connection with them when I was looking, um, to learn a little more before I talked to you. Yeah. There were a lot of, I think they call them all stars and different kinds of celebrities and athletes that partner up with them. And some of the names that stood out to me, Pat Mahomes, Sam Darnold, Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence, Madison Kocian, I love gymnasts, Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele here at SMU. So yeah, there’s a lot of different types of sports involved too. It’s partnered up with them.
Ryan:
Yeah. And it’s pretty amazing what they’ve done and the connections they’ve been able to make. And I think it’s because of what they stand for and who they are as an organization. It seems like, uh, you know, for me personally, it was an easy decision to make because of the way that they’re coming around and supporting these younger kiddos who are struggling through a crazy battle with cancer. And so a lot of these kids, especially, um, you know, being in hospital setting settings and going through chemo and, and being stuck in a hospital bed, a lot of what they’re able to do is watch sports and watch TV and watch these games. And so, uh, being able to step into that role and being able to step into that space with them has been really special. But yeah, like you said, there’s, there’s been a lot of, of awesome, um, presence in terms of athletes and different stars connected to their organizations. Yeah.
Kelly:
It’s really neat. They do a lot of things. So the way I understand it, um, the namesake, Jessie Reese, she was a little girl who fought cancer back in 2011 and 12 and, um, kind of her, her tag line, her, her catch phrase, the thing that she wanted, everyone to kind of remember, that’s where we get this, this NEGU from. Right. And when we say that, we’re saying N E G U, and do you wanna tell us what that is?
Ryan:
Yeah. So NEGU is never ever give up. That was the phrase that kind of stuck and became their slogan and their motto. And yeah, they had a daughter that the founders of this organization had a daughter who passed due to childhood cancer. That is kind of what spurred this move to starting this organization and helping these kiddos fight against what you said and your stat, which I had never heard before, but is the leading cause of deaths in this age of children.
Kelly:
I got that probably from this foundation website, being the leading cause of death by disease for children under 14, I also saw, in connection to more athletes. And I was wondering if you do this too, um, that let’s see 300,000 children are diagnosed every year, or I think it’s a worldwide stat, but 300,000 children every year. Um, and that was something I saw with My Cause My Cleats, I was, I was also curious if that’s something you’ve ever done. The, My Cause My Cleats piece,
Ryan:
I’ve never heard of My Cause My Cleats. Would you mind describing that?
Kelly:
Well, I don’t know much about it, but, um, I do think it’s, you know, when athletes are putting either they’re putting something on their cleats, that’s either a kid’s name or some hashtag where it’s benefiting, um, childhood cancer awareness. So I don’t know, I don’t know the details. We’ll have to go look into what that is. Um, but it might’ve even been something on that foundation site, but I just thought it was cool. Right. I mean, you see athletes do different things with their cleats all the time, but um, this might be something specific to young kiddos battling cancer.
Ryan:
Oh, that’s awesome. Yeah. I’d never, I’d never put that together, but yes, that’s, that is amazing. You do see athletes, I haven’t done it personally, but um, I think it is a really cool opportunity
Kelly:
Then. Tell me what is, um, what’s your involvement with, um, NEGU then? So is it called NEGU crew?
Ryan:
It’s called Ryan’s NEGU crew. And what they’ve done is they’ve tried to get a different kind of representative for each team. And so my buddy who was kind of expanding this throughout the, the MLS, uh, like another good friend of mine who I played with at UCLA Kelyn Rowe has done it in the different markets that he’s played in and I’m doing it here. And I know they’re expanding into different markets, but for us, for me, what that looks like in Dallas is we pick a handful of games throughout the year, usually about five home games throughout the year. And we select with the help of NEGU and FC Dallas foundation. We select a family locally here in Dallas that has a kiddo struggling with childhood cancer. And we bring them out to a game. We give them, you know, free tickets, a full setup, get them gear, get them food, get them, uh, uh, seats to the game. And then we also give them kind of an on field experience. So they come down before the game and watch us warm up. And then after the game, uh, after watching the game, being a part of the game, they come down on the field and walk around with me on the field. And it’s a moment for them to forget about kind of the pain and the suffering. They’re going through, forget about the, the headache and the heartache and all of the things they’re going through and, and escape. And it’s kind of for the whole family too, when any kid is going through this process, it effects, you know, the siblings and the parents and obviously the kiddo with cancer as well. And so to be able to give the whole family this, this moment to escape that and get on the field and watch a game and forget about those things for a moment is just really special. And for me, as kind of the ambassador of it, uh, for Ryan’s NEGU crew, I get to be the one interacting with them. And so I get to check in on them after the game and say, hi, walk them around the field and just connect on them, on a personal level, uh, one on one with the kiddos and the family. Um, and it really is just a special, a special moment. The thing that we tried to do too, is walk them around the stadium and, you know, the fans that kind of hang out after the game, just get to applaud these kiddos and, and show the support that we’re all, uh, we’re all here for them in any way that we can help. We want, we want to be a part of that help.
Kelly:
Fantastic. I’m sure that is a dream come true for these families and things that they will never forget. So then when we’re playing in this day and age, and, um, obviously you get some fans here in Dallas, um, but it’s probably not conducive to having a kiddo that might be sick out there with you. What are you able to continue doing anything with, with Ryan’s NEGU crew right now? Or is it on hold?
Ryan:
Yeah, so we just had a conversation about that about two weeks ago, kind of once we started the regular season backed up and we’re trying to figure out how to troubleshoot that exact issue without having the ability to really bring people into the stadium and with these kiddos and their vulnerability to the virus, especially, it’s not, it’s not worth the risk of having them come to a public space like this. So we’re trying to pivot, I think there’s some, some chance that we can, uh, set up a similar sort of thing over a zoom call, uh, maybe have me connect with a family over a zoom call and then set up, uh, the game on TV in the hospital room. And, maybe have like, you know, some, some decorations or some different goodies kind of delivered to their room in coordination with the game. So that’s, that’s just been discussed in the last two weeks, but I think that we’re pushing for that to happen here in the middle of September.
Kelly:
Cool. You can probably also talk your FC, Dallas, PA folks, and digital folks into maybe giving a shout out or an onscreen appearance or something so that when they’re watching it from the hospital in the stadium. Yeah, I was looking at other ways, just so our listeners know, um, if they look into the Jessie Rees Foundation, other ways to help, there’s so many things, you don’t have to be an athlete to be able to help they have these compassionate change collecting. I think kids get really involved in that. Kids are doing care cards. Um, they have Amazon wishlist set up. That’s a super easy thing that anybody can do. Um, they have, they make beanies for kids that are in the hospital and then they have this thing called the joy factory. That was also something that, um, Jessie Rees kind of started where these joy jars that she sends these kind of little care packages to kids that are, um, going through treatment for cancer. So just so everybody knows, there’s lots of ways you can get involved if you’re not Ryan Hollingshead who gets to bring kids to pro games and that let them go.
Ryan:
Yes, that’s awesome. That’s a really good point.
Kelly:
Lots of things. I also wanted to ask you. Um, so in 2019, FC Dallas did one of these special, uh, contracts. They did, I think, a couple day contract with, um, Brynn Moore where you, in that experience when they did that.
Ryan:
Yeah. So it was incredibly special. Bring came in. It was different. It wasn’t through NEGU. It wasn’t through the Jessie Rees foundation. I don’t believe, I think it was a different organization, but obviously with the same heart in the same mind, the same goal behind it and fighting childhood cancer. And, um, she came in, had a little bit more of an intimate experience as part of like our pregame huddle and our pregame picture and came into our locker room and just had like kind of a full day experience, uh, with us. And then she was a part of a practice the day before and came back and visited again, uh, afterwards. And so it was really, really special to have her around. And again, for us, it was players. That’s like any way we can use our platform to impact these kiddos. It’s such a joy for us to do that. And so she was, she was really special. She also loves soccer, like loves the game. Um, and so it was a, it was a really fun time for her to be around the team and kind of see the ins and outs of everything that we do that are behind the scenes that you don’t really get to see, uh, from the everyday viewpoint.
Kelly:
I love that that’s a cool way that the team comes together and help somebody out, um, given her that two day contract. That’s really cool. I’ve also heard that she has completed her chemo treatment. So that’s such good news and a really cool, probably a team bonding moment too, when you guys can come together and, um, shed light on this for someone gives somebody that cool experience as a team.
Kelly:
In addition to what FC Dallas as a team is doing the MLS as a league has a really cool partnership that they’ve been announced for this month. Um, as part of, of September being childhood cancer awareness month, MLS Works is really the social responsibility platform of the MLS. And, um, they are partnering up with Continental Tire to raise awareness and really to raise money, money for childhood cancer for seven years now, they’ve been doing kick childhood cancer. It’s a campaign that’s out there to, strengthen research efforts and really to find a cure for all types of childhood cancer. So what this entails is clubs and players and former players do this, what they call surprise and delight when they are, giving not only patients, but also healthcare workers, unique experiences and acts of kindness throughout the whole month of September. Um, they’re also donating tires. So Continental Tire is donating sets of tires to patients, families, and hospital workers. And all of the MLS is 26 clubs cities, um, to help kind of offset some of the financial burdens associated with going back and forth from all the treatments and of hospital appointments. And another thing that we can all contribute to is their kick childhood cancer, um, hashtag campaign to raise money. So what they want you to do is go on social media and post messages of hope. So encouraging videos or photos or messages to help inspire the, um, pediatric cancer patients as they’re fighting their fight against cancer. And whenever you use the hashtag “Kick childhood cancer”, Continental Tire is donating money. So they’re donating $25, which is kind of representing the 25th season of the MLS. So they will donate that $25 every time that hashtag is used up to $50,000 this month in September. So you guys get out there and post your messages of hope. We posted one on lifestyle Frisco’s account the other day, and use that Kick childhood cancer hashtag in order to make your post helpful and donate that $25 from continental tire.
Kelly:
Well, Ryan Hollingshead thank you so much for coming on here with us and explaining some of the details about Ryan’s NEGU crew. I didn’t know all of that. And it sounds, and I’m happy to hear that you are implementing that here in the Dallas market. I’m sure lots of families and kids are benefiting and love it so much. And thanks for also just taking the time to come here and help us spend a few minutes shedding light on childhood cancer awareness. So I know that you agree it shouldn’t just be one month. It should be all the time.
Ryan:
Yeah, I think so. I mean, any way, it’s not just athletes, not anybody, like you said, can get involved in any way that you can help in these situations. We, as humanity should be doing that.
Kelly:
And that’s it for today’s episode of hustle and pro -thank you for listening. And don’t forget to subscribe and share and tell your friends about us. We’ll see you next week.
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