Since 2006, the Salina Fire Department and Salina Law Enforcement have gone head-to-head every October in a game of flag football to raise money for local families and organizations.
In 2014, Salina Guns & Hoses (G&H) was formed. Over the last four years, G&H has been committed to raising money for local families who have children battling health conditions from cancer to organ failure to rare birth defects. This is G&H’s fifth year and to date the organization has raised more than $90,000 for 10 families. G&H participants take great pride in what they do. They continue to donate the time it takes to put these events on, and as a lot of people have come to know, they donate 100 percent of the funds raised.
On October 14, 2018, the community will rally around Hayden. Hayden is 10 years old. He was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at the age of nine months. When he was three years old, he received a living donor kidney transplant from Jenny, a caring Salina resident. Since then, he has been hospitalized multiple times due to donor specific antibody (DSA) kidney rejection, cellular kidney rejection and multiple viruses. Due to his compromised immune system, Hayden remains very susceptible to viruses.
In early 2018, Hayden fought influenza A, influenza B, BK virus, HHV6 virus, high blood pressure and another bout of cellular kidney rejection. This required 6 weeks of hospitalization at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. The family continues to make trips to Kansas City several times each month for treatment and blood tests. The family fears that Hayden may again be in cellular kidney rejection, meaning he may need a second kidney transplant.
The G&H flag football game is scheduled for 1 p.m. October 14 at the beautiful Kansas Wesleyan University Graves Family Sports Complex. Gates open at noon. There will be food, entertainment for the kids, raffles, and an auction. With the community’s support, we will easily eclipse the $100,000 mark this year!
Finally, everyone mark your calendars for June 1, 2019, for the Fourth Annual Salina Guns & Hoses 10-FORE Golf Tournament. Follow Salina Guns & Hoses on Facebook to keep up-to-date on everything the group is doing.