Thanks to a mention by senior writer Grant Wahl in a column on SI.com in February 2010, news of the Craig Willinger Fund (CWFund) quickly spread beyond Baltimore. After reading of CWFund’s mission, Jordyn Farrell’s father encouraged her to share her story of survival. Jordyn, an Atlanta, Georgia resident, was diagnosed with dysgerminoma, a type of ovarian cancer, after the discovery of a soccer ball-sized tumor in February 2009, and completed treatment in November 2009 after a recurrence of the disease.

“Soccer (and my team) helped me get through the worst of times,” Jordyn wrote, “but was therapeutic because it remained one of the ‘normal’ things in my life. Soccer allowed me to set goals to achieve in the midst of my treatment…my goal was to be back on the soccer field by February 2010 – and I did it!”

As a guest of the FC Barcelona Foundation, Jordyn was honored with special seating and access to members only hospitality for the Barcelona vs. Villareal game on November 13, 2010. After the game, she was surprised with a player meet-and-greet, including a meeting her idol Lionel Messi, thanks to special arrangements made by the Leo Messi Foundation.