From Robin Campbell
On June 2nd our local bowling youth group received a request from the Newton family on which bowling alley everyone recommended they should stop. The Newton family is from South Carolina and are traveling cross country to visit family. During their travels, they are visiting a bowling alley in 16 states. The idea came from their daughter, Mallory, for her 16th birthday.
Mallory was an everyday teenage girl until June of 2023 and one week before she turned 15, she was starting her first round of chemo. The very thing she loves, played a part in detecting the cancer. Her local bowling community noticed something was off or different in her approach when she bowled. She was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. ARMS, as it is called, is a very aggressive and rare type of cancer.
July is Sarcoma Awareness Month and represented by a gold ribbon. Mallory and her family are spreading awareness with every stop they make. They have teamed up with Elevate Childhood Cancer Research and Advocacy. The chemo used for children is 40 to 50 years old. It has significant impacts on their bodies. September is childhood cancer awareness month, and the Newton family is putting out a call to all states to help raise money and awareness for Elevate Childhood Cancer Research by creating a tournament for the cause, Grit and Grace in motion.
For a second year Mallory is unable to attend the Junior Gold Championships. But for the second year in a row Mallory’s friends and new friends will be rolling for Gold for her. The bowling community is a great place to build bonds. Last year her South Carolina teammates called her for her birthday from Junior Gold. Many of them wore something gold in honor of her. With each state she reaches in her journey across the country, she is making new friends. Mallory and her family recently stopped in Bama Lanes Prattville.
In their post, they did not ask anything more than what is the best place to stop. What they got was a community that showed up for them. Several of our youth bowlers and adult bowlers, along with the great staff at Bama Lanes Prattville met them with open arms.
Mallory aspires to be a professional bowler in the future and while traveling she is working to get her strength back. You can follow her updates at Mallory Newton – Bowling on Facebook.
Anyone that would like to contribute to her #bowlingsweet16 can use either
Venmo: @mallorybowls
CashApp: $Mallorybowls
#bowlingsweet16 #Bowl4Life #childhoodcancerawareness #jopogrips #elevaterhabdo #elevatekids #gritandgrace #rhabdomyosarcoma
