Chase The Victory emerged from the heart of 16-year-old Chase McDaniel, who was fighting cancer while comforting and encouraging others who were going through battles of their own. It was his spirit, faith, joy, and determination that inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to join his mission of hope.

Chase was a senior on the Carrollton High School varsity football team, he was #42.  Some of his favorite things were football, 116 music, Miami Heat, Dwayne Wade, Sneakers, the Carrollton Trojans, and he loved his sisters Karstyn and Sophie, his family, friends, and Jesus.  On April 20th, 2019, on the morning of his prom, Chase was diagnosed with cancer. It was two weeks before his 17th birthday. He was diagnosed with Stage IV Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma which eventually also triggered HLH (Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis). 

Throughout his diagnosis, Chase continued to spend his life encouraging people in whatever way he could. Chase lived for something outside of himself and he had a joy that strengthened him in his darkest hours. His joy was rooted in the truth of His Savior. When you see images of Chase on the day of prom, you would never know that he was in immense pain and doctors had just told him that he had cancer.

Yet, it was in this very moment that his determination to live present and make every moment count, to treat every day as if it is the most important day, was on full display for all to see. In the middle of his pain and a life-changing diagnosis, Chase’s mind was always thinking of others.  On the day of his diagnosis, Chase convinced his doctors to release him from the hospital and let him go to prom because he already told his date that he would take her to prom that day and he didn’t want her to miss it.

Throughout Chase’s battle with cancer, he became a pillar of strength - a voice and an advocate for other teens and kids fighting cancer. But his cancer journey was not at all easy.  He faced months and months of countless chemotherapy treatments, spinal taps, bone marrow aspirations, surgeries, infusions, injections, hundreds of blood and platelet transfusions, and multiple obstacles of his organs battling failure.  It was relentless.  Through it all, he was living his mission and continued being there for others.  He continued using his voice to inspire and encourage others even while enduring battles most of us could never imagine.  While Chase was fighting cancer, he lived his life full of joy, sharing hope, spreading kindness, and inspiring people everywhere with his big smile and loving heart. He relied on his faith in God to impact people every day. 

Everywhere that Chase went, his influence was felt.  His impact left footprints on the hearts of everyone he encountered.  We prayed diligently for our son’s healing.  Not just our little family prayed, but so many prayer warriors all over the nation stormed heaven on our behalf.  When it came time for end-of-treatment scans -  we were devastated to learn that the cancer was still there. It was on this very day, that he decided that he wanted to do something remarkable to give back and show kindness to others. He created a plan to give away one of his favorite gifts…sneakers. He simply wanted to make their day and give them an opportunity to smile.  It’s a vision that we continue to carry out even today.

While thousands of friends and family and entire communities were praying for Chase’s healing, on the evening of November 16, 2019, our 17-year-old son, our only son, Chase, passed away from cancer.  Our hearts were completely broken.  And in an instant, our eyes were opened as we experienced a level of pain and heartache that we never fathomed a human being could experience, let alone survive.  There are literally not enough words on earth to adequately describe the pain of suffering the loss of your child. Our hearts ache for our son.  He is loved and missed beyond what words can describe.  He taught us all so much through the way he lived his life and now his legacy has changed the lives of so many families all over the nation. 

When Chase passed away at the age of 17, he had united thousands of people locally and around the nation surrounding his cause. Since then, the foundation bearing his name has evolved into a movement that is sweeping across the United States. It has emerged into a nationwide nonprofit, Chase The Victory.  Today, we serve hundreds of families locally and nationwide every year.

It is incredibly important life-changing work.  We surround children and families who have suffered the loss of a child with community and support and long-term care.  We provide weeklong retreats for bereaved children and families held on the seaside of the Florida gulf coast.  And we carry out Chase’s legacy by providing Sneaker gift packages of hope and encouragement to families in the midst of battling childhood cancer.  Chase The Victory is honored to carry his name and continue his mission of Sharing Hope and Spreading Kindness to those who need it most. Chase’s legacy of joy, love, and service serves as an inspiration to thousands of people every single day. We will forever share his story. We will forever Chase the Victory.