founder and president: LeAnna Headley
Hi! My name is LeAnna and I am a 21 year old college student from Richmond, Virginia. I am a swimmer, tour guide for my school, and have one younger brother. I attend James Madison University
where I am majoring in Social Work and I am a hopeful future child life specialist. I worked on
summer staff with lighthouse family retreats, am a part time employee of the american childhood cancer organization, and am the founder and president of Our Amazing Fighters!
On August 25th, 2014, I started an Instagram called Our Amazing Fighters to raise awareness, follow battles, and share the stories of kids fighting pediatric cancer. As my account began to grow and I started to hear the horrifying reality that childhood cancer entails, I felt called to do something more, something tangible for these kids, so thus the nonprofit was born. Since then our instagram has gained thousands of followers and our programs have grown tremendously. I have continued delivering and sending care packages, bald american girl dolls, and mini "wishes" to kids all around the country fighting cancer. Our Amazing Fighters also has provided respite care, coffee deliveries, meals to inpatient families, free babysitting, and necessities to childhood cancer families. The application to apply for a care package is located under the "Applying for a care package" tab!
in 2016, two years after starting oaf, my dad was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Watching him fight and knowing kids going through the same exact thing broke my heart and made me so much more passionate about the cause- kids deserve a chance to grow up and live fulfilling lives just like he did. My dad passed away on november 4, 2020, 4 years after diagnosis. He was a miracle living far past prognosis and we feel blessed to carry his battle on and honor his legacy through our work here at Oaf. he is and always will be my hero and best friend.
Thank you so much for supporting Our Amazing Fighters and remember... BE BOLD, GO GOLD!
-LeAnna
where I am majoring in Social Work and I am a hopeful future child life specialist. I worked on
summer staff with lighthouse family retreats, am a part time employee of the american childhood cancer organization, and am the founder and president of Our Amazing Fighters!
On August 25th, 2014, I started an Instagram called Our Amazing Fighters to raise awareness, follow battles, and share the stories of kids fighting pediatric cancer. As my account began to grow and I started to hear the horrifying reality that childhood cancer entails, I felt called to do something more, something tangible for these kids, so thus the nonprofit was born. Since then our instagram has gained thousands of followers and our programs have grown tremendously. I have continued delivering and sending care packages, bald american girl dolls, and mini "wishes" to kids all around the country fighting cancer. Our Amazing Fighters also has provided respite care, coffee deliveries, meals to inpatient families, free babysitting, and necessities to childhood cancer families. The application to apply for a care package is located under the "Applying for a care package" tab!
in 2016, two years after starting oaf, my dad was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Watching him fight and knowing kids going through the same exact thing broke my heart and made me so much more passionate about the cause- kids deserve a chance to grow up and live fulfilling lives just like he did. My dad passed away on november 4, 2020, 4 years after diagnosis. He was a miracle living far past prognosis and we feel blessed to carry his battle on and honor his legacy through our work here at Oaf. he is and always will be my hero and best friend.
Thank you so much for supporting Our Amazing Fighters and remember... BE BOLD, GO GOLD!
-LeAnna
Our People:
Courtney Headley Financial advisor Courtney is LeAnna's mom and has done so much work to help raise awareness and get our amazing fighters off the ground. Courtney's eyes were opened to the cause when she attended curefest for the first time in 2014. She has been vital to our amazing fighters' growth and success.
|
Caoilinn Mclane Board Member 3 time acute myeloid leukemia fighter. Caoilinn met leanna lobbying on capitol hill for better funding and research and they have been best friends ever since. Caoilinn openly shares her story and is truly an incredible human being. Caoilinn is looking forward to starting more programs with oaf! Annie Garner Board member Annie is a full time mom of 3 and military wife to her husband. at 10 months old, her youngest daughter, chloe, was diagnosed with optic pathway glioma, a brain tumor. Chloe has been on and off active treatment for years now and annie is truly committed to being an advocate for chloe and all other kiddos in the fight against cancer. |
Amy K. Board member AMY IS A TWO TIME SURVIVOR AND WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PLURALPULMANARY BLASTOMA IN 2014 AT THE AGE OF SEVEN. AMY MET LEANNA LOBBYING ON CAPITOL HILL AND HAVE BECOME GREAT FRIENDS EVER SINCE! AMY LOVES USING HER VOICE AND SHARING HER STORY TO HELP CREATE CHANGE IN THE WORLD OF CHILDHOOD CANCER. since starting at oaf she has done a multitude of projects and behind the scenes work. She is looking forward to supporting families in the fight as a partial ambassador as well! |
Our amazing ambassadors:
In the fall of 2021, we began our first ever ambassadors program. While we work with children nationwide already, This is our first step in growing our nonprofit. oaf was begun by 1 teenage girl and now she has 3 carrying that on and building upon what was started back in 2014. in their own separate regions, they will be packing care packages, supporting families, helping make our programs more efficient, running fundraisers and hosting events for our amazing fighters families!
Be sure to follow them on instagram at... @ouramazingambassadors or #oafambassadors
Be sure to follow them on instagram at... @ouramazingambassadors or #oafambassadors
Emily Reynolds south region ambassador Emily is a 17 year old senior in high school from Mississippi. emily became a passionate advocate after learning about kids in her own town fighting DIPG. She raises awareness through social media, attended curefest for the first time in 2021 and helps in her community through blood drives and working with local nonprofits. |
Abby Kerber North Region Ambassador Abby is a 17 year old high school student from Minnesota. She became passionate about childhood cancer awareness after following and supporting wilms tumor fighter, Ava blaser. abby has volunteered for the truth 365 and actively spreads awareness throughout her life. She is a passionate advocate through social media and is excited to be apart of the team! |
Ellia Nickerson Virginia Ambassador Ellia has been a longtime volunteer of our amazing fighters. She is the 15 year old cousin of LeAnna, our founder and has become an irreplaceable asset to oaf. She will be helping our main team in Virginia with care packages, running social media, and assisting leAnna. She is so honored to be taking on an official role and is excited to be joining oaf officially. |
WHEN BUILDING MY TEAM/ BOARD FOR OAF, who BETTER TO INCLUDE THAN THE FIGHTERS AND FAMILIES WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS THEMSELVES? THEY WOULD KNOW WHAT IS NEEDED AND WHAT IS MOST BENEFICIAL... I (LeAnna) am so honored to have such an incredible team built of people who are passionate about the cause and want to make a difference in the lives of families fighting.