INDIANAPOLIS, IN., October 9, 2009… Eighth grade middle school student Tyler Genneken should be practicing with his football team this week preparing for one of the biggest rivalries of the season. Instead, he is in the fight of his life following a relapse of leukemia. On Wednesday, October 14th, when his teammates at Center Grove Middle School Central take on rival Center Grove Middle School North, they will do so in honor of their team captain.

In preparation for the big game, students and faculty at Center Grove Central Middle School designed t-shirts with Tyler’s name and jersey number to sell in advance. Parents of the players will sell homemade chili the night of the game, and a sponsor will kick in extra donations for every point scored by Tyler’s team. At Tyler’s request, all proceeds from the event will be donated to Camp Little Red Door.

Tyler attended Camp Little Red Door in 2007 and 2008. A summer camp hosted by Little Red Door Cancer Agency each year at Bradford Woods, Camp Little Red Door was the first camp in the state of Indiana specifically designed for children with cancer ages eight to eighteen. While at camp, Tyler was able to enjoy typical summer camp activities while being surrounded by others his age battling cancer as well.

Tyler’s support of Camp Little Red Door is not his first show of activism in fighting leukemia. On Saturday, September 26, 2009 the Tyler Genneken/Riley Children's Bone Marrow Awareness drive was held at area Kohl’s department stores. The goal was to register as many potential bone marrow donors as possible to be included on a national registry for others battling leukemia. This one day event that anticipated only a few hundred people garnered more than 1400 new registrants!

You can help show your support for Tyler and all other children battling cancer by attending the football game. To learn more about Tyler, visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tylergenneken.