CHAMP (Creating Hope & Making Progress) is a student-led charitable movement uniting high school students across Huntingdon County to stand up for children and adults fighting cancer and other life-debilitating diseases. The movement began in 2015 in honor of seven local children whose lives and stories inspired the effort. By 2019, CHAMP had grown into a countywide movement spanning six local high schools. Mount Union is one of those six — described by CHAMP as “a legacy CHAMP community where students have rallied for families for more than a decade.”
Stories We Carry With Us
The Seven Who Inspired CHAMP
CHAMP dedicates its work to seven children whose courage, families, and stories became the foundation of the movement.
Name
Place in CHAMP’s Story
Cinny Fagan
One of the seven original children honored by CHAMP.
Destiny Devlin
One of the seven original children honored by CHAMP.
Jazzy Inch
One of the seven original children honored by CHAMP.
Shelly Bliss
One of the seven original children honored by CHAMP.
Wade Stains
One of the seven original children honored by CHAMP.
Riley Randoll
One of the seven original children honored by CHAMP.
Kristy Bookwalter
One of the seven original children honored by CHAMP.
Read Their Stories
CHAMP’s official dedication page preserves the personal stories behind the movement and explains how supporters may honor someone through a fundraiser, dance block, or donation. Visit CHAMP’s dedication page.
$1.1M+
Raised Since 2015
120+
Families Supported
2027
New Campaign
5,000+
Student Participants
Dance Marathon
CHAMP's signature annual event is a countywide dance marathon; the 2026 campaign raised $259,631.54 for local families facing medical crises. Funds go directly to affected families for medical bills, travel to treatment, and everyday expenses while a loved one is sick.
The 2027 campaign
Every Family Deserves a Champion
CHAMP’s 2027 campaign pairs local fundraising with a new Youth Leadership Academy. Its twelve lessons help student captains develop skills in communication, fundraising, budgeting, teamwork and community service.
Mount Union co-captain Talia Whitesel designed the campaign logo selected by a vote of the student captains. The annual dance-a-thon is scheduled for February 26, 2027, at Southern Huntingdon County High School; its start time was not announced.
Source: The Daily News, September 25, 2026, pp. 1, 3.
East Broad Top joins the CHAMP campaign
Southern Huntingdon County School District and the East Broad Top announced the first Rockets Ride for CHAMP for October 16, 2026. Students in grades 6–12 who meet a fundraising goal are to earn a train ride from Rockhill to the high school, with classes competing for a traveling trophy.
The planned ride is a student fundraising incentive. The report did not announce public passenger tickets or a departure time.
Source: The Daily News, September 30, 2026, p. 1, Jordan Rhodes, “EBT, Rockets team up for event”.
Mount Union’s fall fundraisers
The September 26 Going Gold fundraiser raised $2,000 for the campaign; see the result and photographs below. Pink Out shirt orders were advertised through October 5 ahead of the October 23 football game. A bingo fundraiser is planned for November 8, with tickets available through Mount Union CHAMP advisers or captains; its time and venue were not announced.
Students also announced a Crazy Fudge fundraiser. Ask advisers or captains for its order deadline, because the published weekday and date conflict. View fundraiser dates.
Source: The Daily News, September 25, 2026, p. 3.
Donate
Every dollar goes to a Huntingdon County family. Give directly below, or by mail.
Prefer to give by mail? Make checks payable to CHAMP/Planet LoveJoy and send to: CHAMP/Huntingdon High School, c/o Nicole Houck, 2400 Cassady Ave, Suite 2, Huntingdon, PA 16652.
What Your Gift Covers
Gift
Impact
$25
Covers gas for one hospital visit
$50
Provides a week of groceries
$100
Pays utility bills during treatment
$250
Sponsors a month of family meals
$500
Covers major medical expenses
$1,000
Become a CHAMP Champion sponsor
Get Involved at Mount Union
Mount Union students have taken part in CHAMP for more than a decade. To find out how to join the effort locally, sponsor a family, or bring a fundraiser to school, visit champhco.com.
Going Gold raises $2,000
The Mount Union Community Soccer League’s Going Gold event raised $2,000 for CHAMP’s 2027 campaign, according to the October 8 newspaper. CHAMP captain Ashlynn Kyler accepted the donation from league fundraising coordinator Liz Earley and treasurer Nick McConaughey.
The report dates the league’s founding to 2008 and describes about 115 players, ages 4–18, in its 2026 fall season. The donation follows the September announcement of the local Going Gold fundraiser.
Mount Union Community Soccer League participants at the Going Gold fundraiser. Credit: Submitted photograph; The Daily News, October 8, 2026, p. 6.Liz Earley, Ashlynn Kyler and Nick McConaughey at the CHAMP check presentation. Credit: Submitted photograph; The Daily News, October 8, 2026, p. 6.
Source: The Daily News, October 8, 2026, p. 6, “MUCSL event raises $2000 for CHAMP”.
Sources
CHAMP (Creating Hope & Making Progress), champhco.com, and its Donate and About pages, accessed Aug 2026. Figures (funds raised, families supported, dance-marathon total, donation links) are current as posted at that time and subject to change — check champhco.com for the latest.
