The Power of a Prayer Circle

Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research was born from a prayer circle, a simple question and the movement that followed.

When William relapsed with brain cancer, neighbors and friends gathered in his driveway to pray.

At the end of that first gathering, the baseball moms made a promise to William’s mom, Nancy. They would return every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 a.m. to pray him through treatment.

For more than a year, women from across the community came together. Sometimes it was six women, sometimes 18.

Their children attended different schools. Their families worshiped at different churches.

Yet they stood side by side with one purpose to pray for William. In those quiet, determined moments, they knew they were part of something extraordinary.

Dean Crowe was among them. She was shocked by what she was learning about childhood cancer. God was stirring her heart, but she wasn’t sure what He was asking her to do.

One day, Dean and her husband, Reid, went to visit William in the hospital. Reid had been William’s baseball coach, and the two shared a special bond. As they walked the hospital halls, Reid warned Dean that what she was about to see would be hard.

And it was. William was so sick. The contrast between him and their healthy son, Jonathan, shook Dean deeply.

In that moment of heartbreak, she turned to Nancy and asked a question that would change everything: “What can I do to help? And I will not make you dinner. We are way past dinner.”

Nancy’s answer was powerful: “Raise money for childhood cancer research. Fund all the different types and only fund the best.”

And with that, the seed of Rally Foundation was planted.

It started with a 12-year-old travel baseball team.
A special bond between a coach and his player.
A devastating pediatric brain cancer diagnosis.
A prayer circle in a driveway.
A powerful question in a hospital room.

Out of heartbreak, community, prayer and hope, Rally was born.

That was 20 years ago.

Since then, Rally has funded more than $40 million in childhood cancer research across the country and around the world. Our sweet spot is early-stage funding and investing in new bold ideas. Kids are alive today because of Rally-funded research.

William beat cancer a second time and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in chemical engineering. Dean and Reid, also Auburn graduates, were there to cheer him on.

But William’s cancer returned again. At just 25 years old, William entered the gates of heaven only hours after one last visit with his coach, a bond forged on the baseball field and strengthened through every battle.

Even in that last visit, William’s unwavering message was clear that we must always keep the faith and Rally On.

This is why early-stage research funding matters.

This is the power of philanthropic seed investing.

This is Rally.