CCA Blog

Wearing black and red (sans high heels), I got to spend the day before Thanksgiving having a ton of fun at the Portland Trail Blazers practice facility. About 10 kids we serve, wearing No. 2 Steve Blake jerseys (courtesy of the Blazers), were playing a pick-up game and running drills with our favorite NBA point guard, Steve Blake. It didn't matter if the kiddo had no hair, couldn't eat sugar, was encased in an upper body cast, had legs that could not move, or was incredibly shy; just as soon as Steve started playing with them the smiles, laughter and joy started, and the kids and their parents forgot their troubles for a couple hours.

 Steve, sore from an awesome game the night before, was just like a kid himself, running, shooting, boosting kids up for dunks, and laughing. It was magic! Because of our amazing board member Tom Penn, the Assistant General Manager for the Trail Blazers, our wonderful business partner Genentech, and the incredible generosity of Steve Blake, these seriously ill kids got to enjoy an afternoon of hoops – just like healthy kids do every day.

There were so many precious moments that day, like watching Jaya move around the court like he owned it, with no fear or shyness even though he was smaller than everyone else there – he sure didn’t seem to notice! And seeing a budding friendship between Gage and Andrew was really special. Both boys were so nervous and shy when they first came, and by the end of the day they were best buddies who didn't want to get off the court. I also witnessed Steve bring to life a shy Angelina, who was playing by herself. Steve drew her out of the corner and lifted her up to shoot a basket, and she had the biggest grin and look of amazement. None of us will forget middle-school basketball star Molly taking on Steve one-on-one, and giving him a run for his money!

Thank YOU for precious Thanksgiving memories.