CHF Expands in Booneville, MS: Hear the Story

In Booneville, Mississippi, a city with less than 10,000 people, a little girl named Lylah Grey was born. Now, her story crosses state lines and has raised funds to help hundreds of kids. Lylah’s life was too short, but her impact and story is kept alive by her family, who have worked tirelessly to advocate for families with children diagnosed with life-threatening illness – just like us!

Lylah was just shy of 3 years old when she was diagnosed with high risk Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Before Chris Hope officially launched the Chris Hope Foundation, he was still invested in the wellbeing of families with kids receiving treatment. Chris met Lylah and her family in 2014 at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. As you can see in the photo above, they hit it off instantly.

Unfortunately, Lylah passed away in September 2015. That year, Lylah’s family raised $103,000 for St. Jude working with Team HOPE. Just as her annual 5k’s namesake says: she was, and still is, a ray of hope. Since 2017, Lylah Grey’s Ray of HOPE 5k has been hosted in Booneville, benefiting St. Jude. The Chris Hope Foundation has worked with Lylah’s family on promotion, fundraising and organizing the race every year.

In 2022, we plan to make an even bigger impact in Booneville, and Lylah’s grandmother, Kim, will lead that work. In her own words, “The CHF mission is above and beyond what anyone could ever have dreamed of. It is amazing what he aspires to do and what he does for families.”

We hope you’ll follow along with this exciting expansion. There is so much more to come!