“Whatever your goals are, whatever your passion is, you follow it. You let your mind lead and let your body follow. Don’t let Crohn’s hold you back.” – Larry Nance, Jr.
Our 2nd year of Larry’s Leaders is officially under way for the 2019-2020 NBA season.
On October 27th, 2018, we kicked off our “Larry’s Leaders” program, in partnership with the Cavs and Cleveland Clinic, where we host 10 pediatric IBD patients a season for a night out at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse!
The experience includes the opportunity to watch Larry shoot around from the court, a meet & greet with Larry, and game tix for the patient and their family.
Meet Larry’s Leaders
We are so thankful for our partnership with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Clinic to host some very special IBD patients through our Larry’s Leaders program!
2019-2020 Season
What a busy time for AVC and some very deserving patients from the Cleveland Clinic! We hosted Katie, Liv, and their families as a part of our Larry’s Leaders program. Each IBD patient was treated to an on-court meet and greet with Larry, dinner, and tickets to tonight’s game vs. Denver! Wishing Liv and Katie the best in all of their future endeavors
We had a blast hosting our “crohnie” Samara and her family during a Cavs game as a part of our Larry’s Leaders program, in partnership with the @Cavs and @clevelandclinic
We had the pleasure of hosting Landen and his family as a part of our Larry’s Leaders program! In our partnership with the Cavs and Cleveland Clinic Children’s, select IBD patients are treated to a fun evening at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse including court access during pregame shoot around, meet and greet with @larrydn7, dinner, and game tickets!
Thanks to Simon and Alaina for joining us for a @Cavs game! We were happy to host Simon and Alaina (and their families!) with Athletes vs. Crohn’s & Colitis on behalf of Larry Nance Jr. as part of this season’s “Larry’s Leaders” program. We love that we were able to meet these deserving IBD patients and standout athletes and have a great night @rocketmortgagefieldhouse.
Another special night for our Larry Leader’s program! We had the pleasure of hosting Durand and his family for a great night @rocketmortgagefieldhouse! Durand is 14, loves basketball, and is thankful for the amazing care at the @clevelandclinic. Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease just 7 months ago, he receives Remicade infusions – just like @larrydn7 – to keep him healthy on and off the court! Wishing Durand the best of luck this basketball season, and for a smooth journey in his new battle with IBD!
We hosted 2 very special families as a part of our Larry’s Leaders program, in partnership with the @cavs and @clevelandclinic! Both Carlos, age 17, and Leah, age 10, love basketball and receive Remicade infusions to keep them healthy and strong, despite living with IBD! Both kids were treated to pregame courtside access, meet and greet with Larry, dinner, and tickets for tonight’s game! We love spending time with these extremely deserving athletes and their families!
We had the pleasure of meeting some awesome Crohn’s patients at @Cavs game as a part of our Larry’s Leaders program! Both Colton (Wooster, OH) and Owen (Sagamore Hills, OH) are active in sports and undergo Remicade treatments to keep them healthy and strong on and off the field. It was great to spend some time with their families and make connections in the IBD community!
We had the pleasure of hosting Nicholas and his family as a part of our Larry’s Leaders program! From Mentor, OH, Nicholas is 9 years old and is treated for Crohn’s at @clevelandclinic via Remicade infusions, just like @larrydn7! He and his guests were treated to a pregame meet and greet, dinner, and great seats for tonight’s game vs. the Bucks! It was Nicholas’ FIRST EVER @cavs game, and we were so happy to be apart of it and show him that IBD can’t stop him from being who/what he wants to be!
Our very first Leader of the ‘19-‘20 season is Akiva, a basketball player from University Heights battling Crohn’s disease! Diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 9, Akiva loves the Cavs and once led his youth basketball team to the championship game, playing on the court @rocketmortgagefieldhouse! It was a joy to hang with with Akiva and his family, and we wish him the best fo luck in his upcoming season! ???
2018-2019 Season
Our very first Leader is Michael, a stand out football player from Youngstown battling Crohn’s disease! We had a blast spending time with Michael and his family, and were inspired by his positive attitude and ability to not let IBD hold him back. Way to go, Michael!
For our second “Larry’s Leaders” program this season we hosted Jamir and his family. Jamir is 19 and was diagnosed with Crohn’s at the Cleveland Clinic 2 years ago. He loves basketball and football! Keep fighting, Jamir! ??
Our next leader was Donovan, who is 21 years old and was diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 8. Donovan loves basketball and watching the Cavs in his spare time ?
Next up is 14 year old Mia, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s a little over 1 year ago. Mia is a super star soccer and basketball player for her school ?⚽️
Next meet Bobby, who is 17 years old and has been battling Crohn’s for 5 years. Bobby loves basketball, baseball, and hope to go to college next year and major in sports management ?⚾️
We were happy to meet Evan and Connor, brothers who are both battling Crohn’s disease and refusing to let chronic illness hold them back! Connor is a swimmer at Mount Union ?♂️ and Evan is a highly recruited track star ⭐️ at Solon High School. These 2 have bonded over their diagnosis’ and are awesome role models for other athletes facing IBD!
We had the pleasure of meeting Alyssa who is in 8th grade and from Chagrin Falls. Alyssa is active in dance, including tap, jazz, and hip hop – and follows the SCD Diet in order to maintain a happy and healthy lifestyle!
We were pumped to meet Michael and his family. Michael is a junior in high school and plays baseball ⚾️ as a pitcher. He also loves music and plays both the oboe and saxophone in his school band. Michael has an amazing spirit and refuses to let Crohn’s stop him from achieving his goals!
We were excited to host Jake and his family as a part of our “Larry’s Leaders” program with the @cavs and @clevelandclinic! Jake is in 6th grade and was diagnosed with Colitis at age 8. Active in basketball and baseball, Jake also does very well in school and refuses to let IBD hamper his positive spirit!
Ethan came all the way from Niagara Falls during his spring break to cheer on the Cavs in Cleveland! Ethan is 14 and was diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 7. A lover of ⚾️ and ?, Ethan is an ambassador for his hospital via the Children’s Miracle Network and spends time mentoring other kids who are newly diagnosed with IBD. It was so nice to spend time with Ethan and his supportive family! ?
We had the pleasure of meeting Natalie, who is in eight grade and loves ? and ⚽️. Diagnosed with Crohn’s in 2017, Natalie never lets her diagnosis keep her down both on and off the court. She proudly wears #22 and is a great role model for other kids battling chronic illness ??
We are grateful to have these amazing athletes representing AVC! @ Quicken Loans Arena
