Cool Kids and the legend of Ken Singleton helping kids cope with cancer

We’ve been talking to Singy for years about his golf outings and Yankees adventures so this time we went to the heart of the Cool Kids Network as Alyssa Vagnoni joins Nestor at Costas Inn in Timonium on “A Cup Of Soup Or Bowl” to discuss all of the things 20 years of helping kids cope with cancer have meant to local families.

Alyssa Vagnoni from Cool Kids Campaign discussed their mission to support pediatric oncology patients and their families in the DMV area. The campaign offers academic, emotional, and social support through programs like movie nights, caregiver support groups, and field trips. They also provide vacation condos and tutoring. Vagnoni highlighted their upcoming event, “Nash Vegas” on February 27, a Casino Night in Baltimore. The campaign is always in need of volunteers and donations. Ken Singleton, a baseball legend, is deeply involved, supporting the campaign through events and his presence on their board.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Provide platform feature/interview for other charities who email asking to be featured (respond to charity emails at Nestor@BaltimorePositive.com and schedule segments similar to this interview)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Call Ken Singleton to discuss his involvement/attendance at upcoming golf events and confirm his availability
• [ ] Ensure Nash Vegas (Casino Night, Feb 27) ticket and event information is available via the organization’s Instagram bio and event links for purchase
• [ ] Confirm golf tournament location and share tournament details (location, date, registration) with the radio host and public

Cool Kids Campaign Introduction and Ken Singleton’s Legacy

• Nestor Aparicio introduces Alyssa Vagnoni from the Cool Kids Campaign and mentions Ken Singleton’s association with the campaign.
• Alyssa Vagnoni praises Ken Singleton’s heart and his significant role in the Cool Kids Campaign, including his presence on the board and support for their events.
• Nestor Aparicio reminisces about Ken Singleton’s contributions to the community and his legacy as a baseball legend.
• Alyssa Vagnoni explains the Cool Kids Campaign’s mission to support pediatric oncology patients and their families through various programs.

Programs and Services of Cool Kids Campaign

• Alyssa Vagnoni details the programs offered by the Cool Kids Campaign, including academic, emotional, and social support for patients and their families.
• The campaign organizes events like movie nights, smile celebrations, and caregiver support groups at their clubhouse in Towson.
• Off-site programs include field trips, vacation condos, and tutoring to provide additional support.
• Nestor Aparicio shares a personal story about his wife’s experience with cancer, emphasizing the importance of support for families dealing with pediatric oncology.

Challenges and Long-term Effects of Childhood Cancer

• Alyssa Vagnoni discusses the long-term effects of childhood cancer, including delayed learning and trauma, which can last a lifetime.
• Nestor Aparicio reflects on the emotional impact of seeing children affected by cancer and the importance of kindness and support.
• Alyssa Vagnoni highlights the campaign’s efforts to support families throughout their cancer journey, from diagnosis to remission or end-of-life care.
• The conversation touches on the need for community support and the various ways individuals can help, including attending fundraising events and volunteering.

Upcoming Fundraising Events and Volunteer Opportunities

• Alyssa Vagnoni announces the next big fundraising event, “Nash Vegas,” a Casino Night in Baltimore, scheduled for February 27.
• The event will feature live music, an open bar, great apps, and casino games, with tickets available through the campaign’s Instagram.
• Alyssa Vagnoni encourages people to keep an eye out for other fundraisers throughout the year and to volunteer their time and resources.
• The campaign is always in need of more volunteers, and there are opportunities to help with both event-related tasks and family programs.

Cool Kids Campaign’s Reach and Community Impact

• Alyssa Vagnoni mentions the campaign’s clubhouse in Towson, which serves as both an office and a space for programs.
• The campaign has a clubhouse near Charlotte, North Carolina, and serves children from one month to 18 years old.
• The programs cater to different age groups and themes, such as movie nights and slime parties.
• The campaign supports families affected by cancer at every stage of their journey, providing continuous support and care.

Ken Singleton’s Continued Involvement and Legacy

• Nestor Aparicio praises Ken Singleton’s ongoing involvement with the Cool Kids Campaign and his significant impact on the community.
• Alyssa Vagnoni shares her experience getting to know Ken Singleton and his kindness and dedication to the campaign.
• Nestor Aparicio reflects on the legacy of local baseball players like Ken Singleton and their contributions to the community.
• The conversation highlights the importance of community support and the lasting impact of individuals like Ken Singleton on organizations like the Cool Kids Campaign.

Personal Reflections and Final Thoughts

• Nestor Aparicio shares personal stories about his experiences with cancer and the importance of community support.
• Alyssa Vagnoni emphasizes the campaign’s commitment to supporting the whole family and providing continuous care.
• The conversation concludes with a discussion about the upcoming golf tournament and the importance of community involvement in supporting the campaign.
• Nestor Aparicio thanks Alyssa Vagnoni for her work and encourages listeners to get involved with the Cool Kids Campaign.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Cool Kids Campaign, pediatric oncology, Ken Singleton, fundraising events, family support, Towson clubhouse, emotional support, academic programs, caregiver groups, vacation condos, tutoring, Nash Vegas event, volunteer opportunities, childhood cancer, community outreach.

SPEAKERS

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Alyssa Vagnoni, Nestor Aparicio, Speaker 1

Nestor Aparicio  00:00

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive. We’re positively here at Costas Inn. We are in Timonium, Maryland. We’re at the racetrack. Christine told me they put a new lighted sign down at Timonium road. She said they had people making left turn onto the light rail tracks looking for Costas. And Costas is not up the light rail track. You actually have to come into the racetrack to get here. It’s all brought to my friends at the Maryland lottery. Candy Cane cash to give away. You get lucky number 59 I think that’s a prime number for the most part. Alyssa pani is here. She is with Cool Kids campaign. When I think of Cool Kids campaign, I think it can Singleton. Am I right in doing that, or am I wrong and doing that? I don’t, I mean, sing. He’s been my guide since, I don’t know, since he came over from Montreal in 76 you know, or whatever. 7576 number 29 in your program, number one in your hearts. I even play golf with Ken Singleton, and I don’t play golf. What do you know about Ken Singleton? He is a legend.

Alyssa Vagnoni  01:03

He is a legend, and he has a very big heart. He is so our clubhouse is in honor of him. So he’s on our board, and he is super supportive of us. We do a big golf tournament in honor of him.

Nestor Aparicio  01:18

I see him on the tour. I see every year I see it, I’m like, Ah, singletons tournaments. Yes, good weather. I mean, good weather so

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Alyssa Vagnoni  01:26

important it is, and they’re so fun. Last year was obviously my first time doing it. I started in February last year.

Nestor Aparicio  01:33

Has he been doing that 30 years? How long? I mean,

Alyssa Vagnoni  01:35

I don’t know. I honestly don’t know, but it’s a great time singing.

Nestor Aparicio  01:41

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Was doing stuff for the community before, like anybody you know, because he was an Orioles of that era, you know, you come in, you meet Brooks Robinson, you do things here. Jim Palmer, you do things here. Yeah, he went off all the Yankee and I’ve given him a hard time about all that, but believe me, singleton got the better end of the deal working for the Yankees the last 30 years, but and he’s a legend in New York as well. Yeah, tell me about what Cool Kids campaign is, roots what it currently does, and I’ll pop a singleton in a spring baseball

Alyssa Vagnoni  02:13

Yeah, absolutely. So Cool Kids campaign is a nonprofit. We’re based in Towson, but we serve kids and families all over the DMV, so our mission is to support pediatric oncology patient survivors and their families. God, that’s so cool. Yeah. So we support them by putting on programs for them. So we support them academically, emotionally and socially. So like I said, we have a clubhouse in Towson, where we put on programs. They can come to the clubhouse, and we do movie nights. We do smile celebrations, which can be birthday parties or treatment milestones, or whatever it is. We do caregiver support groups. Those are all of our on site programs. And then we also do off site programs as well. So we take them on field trips, and we have vacation condos and Louis that we can send them on vacation. We do tutoring,

Nestor Aparicio  03:09

unbelievable thing for their families, for the parents. So my wife’s a two time leukemia survivor. She spent 155 nights in the hospital at Hopkins, right? So we would go down there on her bad days, her worst days, her good days or better days. And she could take her her tree because she had a plant in her chest, and we could walk down to the cafeteria, and where she was was the adult wing on the fifth floor. And we would go down to the common area, and we would see the kids, my wife is fighting for her life, bald, cancered up, chemoed up, feeling awful. And we would see a child. It’s brutal, brutal. I can’t I can’t even I haven’t cried all week. Damn. You’re gonna do it to me singing, come save me. Yeah, I put myself in that place, and it’s just it was hard enough being adults and being able to process it, seeing children, babies, little girls, yeah, boys, and to think that all right, we’re gonna get through all this pain, all this blood, all this awful all this agony, all of this not even understanding it, and then come out the other end and have somebody there to be kind to them, that’s,

Alyssa Vagnoni  04:24

yeah, everything it is. And the thing with childhood cancer, like it’s all diseases are horrible. And you know something about seeing a child sick, and even if they do make it through, or they get better, and they’re cancer free, a lot of the time we see the effects of cancer last their entire life, especially, you know, if it’s a brain cancer, they have delayed learning or, yeah, trauma, like you said, I mean, it’s the effects really are lasting a life.

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Nestor Aparicio  04:55

It’s easy to do things for children in this circumstance, people. To help out. How can they help, other than to sit in the golf ball with you in singleton Yeah.

Alyssa Vagnoni  05:04

So I do all our fundraising events. So we have fundraising events throughout the whole year, and we’re really just looking for people to come and support us. Our next big one is February 27

Nestor Aparicio  05:17

just around kids campaign.org, you can find it, yes, Cool Kids Camp, cancer swears her, I’ll tell you right now.

Alyssa Vagnoni  05:24

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Or you can follow our Instagram at Cool Kids campaign that has a lot of our event info. But our event in February. It’s called Nash Vegas. It’s a Casino Night in Baltimore at our house. Oh, Nash. Is that country music? Nash Vegas. So it’s Las Vegas and Vegas music.

Speaker 1  05:43

We can do anything. I’ll look like, I’m in Nashville.

Alyssa Vagnoni  05:46

We can make anything happen. Yes, there’s gonna be live music. Country Girl, no, I don’t really rock and roll. I don’t like,

Nestor Aparicio  05:55

I’m not a little, I’m a lot of rock and roll.

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Alyssa Vagnoni  05:57

Yeah, yeah. With Yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  05:58

all right. Well, you know, I’d like Nashville, yeah, just worry me that’s gonna be twang. No, it

Alyssa Vagnoni  06:07

won’t use Yeah, yeah. We have a great live band. Yes, live music, open bar. Great apps, casino games, thirsty. It’s a really fun night. So it’s February 27 people can get tickets at the link in our bio on Instagram. It’s awesome. So that would be a huge help. And then, in general, just keeping an eye out for our fundraisers throughout the year. Any donations, any volunteers, we’re always looking for extra hands.

Nestor Aparicio  06:40

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So yeah, how many volunteers you have? Not enough. We never have enough.

Alyssa Vagnoni  06:45

Yeah, never enough. But I don’t know. It depends on the event. You know we have, we just

Nestor Aparicio  06:51

volunteering me. What do you do when you so we have, I signed up for there.

Alyssa Vagnoni  06:56

We have two areas. So there’s the event side of things, which could be fundraisers or golf tournaments, and people can come help with those, or our family programs, and those are working directly with the kids. So depends really what you want to do. We have those two options, but, yeah, we do a toy drive in the winter. We just finished that and got the most toys we’ve ever received, so that was amazing. So they can keep an eye out for that in the winter. And we’re having our 20th year gala this year. 20 years you’ve been doing that, so that’ll be in November. So got a lot

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Nestor Aparicio  07:36

coming up. I gotta wear black tie for that. Are we going cash? What are we doing? No idea to be determined. All right? Alyssa bag, no knees. Here, you can reach out to her at Cool Kids campaign. They are, I don’t know, as local as it gets, but I want a website. There’s, like a North Carolina chapter. There’s other chats,

Alyssa Vagnoni  07:54

yes, so we have, yeah, we have a clubhouse in near Charlotte as well. And then what does a clubhouse mean? So it doubles as our office and the, you know, clubhouse where the kids can come and we do our programs there. So we have in the Towson one, we have two empty rooms where, that’s where we do all

Nestor Aparicio  08:14

the kids that will come to you.

Alyssa Vagnoni  08:16

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So again, depends on the program itself and the theme of the program tomorrow, we actually have a slime party that we’re doing. I’m assuming that

Nestor Aparicio  08:27

we’re drinking. I don’t even play golf. Yeah, yeah,

Alyssa Vagnoni  08:32

that one might be a little bit of older kids. But, you know, a movie night might be younger. I mean, we have kids from one to couple months to 18 years old. So okay, we really serve all ages.

Nestor Aparicio  08:44

You’ve been affected by cancer, oncology, that’s yes, that’s the barrier. If you’ve been affected by cancer, you’re a child. Koco’s wants to help,

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Alyssa Vagnoni  08:52

and we are big on supporting the whole family. So no matter what stage of their cancer journey they are in, whether it’s, you know, they’re in remission, or they’re in treatment, or we have families that their kids have sadly passed and they still come to programs looking for that support from us. So really, we’re big on supporting the whole family throughout every stage of their journey.

Nestor Aparicio  09:14

Melissa, good work. It’s a cool kids campaign. Where’s the golf tournament this year? We know yet

Alyssa Vagnoni  09:19

it’s in Hunt Valley. I’ll let

Nestor Aparicio  09:23

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everybody go to Cool Kids campaign to find out how singing, what’s going on? I gotta call him up. What’s he hitting the golf ball? It’s pitchers and catchers have reported. He’s got to be in Florida every time I get together with him. He’s retired. He’s unretired, he’s in he’s golf and he’s not. I hope he’s happy. He’s um, do you know what the legend of him are? You from here? You seem to be younger than me. I bet you didn’t see singing play in 78 the way I didn’t.

Alyssa Vagnoni  09:50

But I am from Maryland, but more so Howard County. So, you know, I didn’t actually know who he was, admittedly, before I started at. Kids, but it’s been so great getting to know him. He truly is so kind.

Nestor Aparicio  10:03

He’s a wonderful man. He really, really is. And on a side note, being a baseball guy from a baseball family, so many people you know, 40 years into being a sports journalist, well over 50 years of watching the Orioles play and everybody knows him, 34 years here, yapping about it. I am from an era where, like Brooks, Robinson, Mark Belanger, Terry Crowley, all these local players lived here, worked here. Their children went to school. They lived in Lutherville. All of my cousin lived in Lutherville here back in the 60s and 70s. And they laid these roots down here, and singing came in in the late 70s, part of Oriole magic was there for Oreo magic winning the World Series in 83 now he’s known with New York and the Yankees and yes, network and all that, but he made a life here. He always lived here. He always talked about living here. He was run on to golf courses here. But I knew him as a player, and then in the 80s, he was the original guy that wanted to be on TV at Channel 13, and doing being a sportscaster. And going into that offseason, he was doing television on Channel 13 when he was late in his career as a player, and people thought, well, he’s trying to beat Jim Palmer. He’s trying to go work with Howard co sell or whatever. He went on a different path, but always was a part of here, because he was part of the Oriole way. He was a part of giving back to the community. It’s not shocking to me that a man of that era of 50 years later, would have left this legacy where this beautiful young ladies out, we’re doing things for children that you don’t even know who he is was, and you’re running his foundation, because that’s, that’s the stinky left behind here, you know, after all these years, that’s, that’s a heck of a baseball legacy. Yeah, definitely. It totally not a Hall of Famer and a hall of our Hall of Fame here, but, but, like, just somebody that really made a difference in that. I mean, I’ve heard about his when I heard cool kids, I went over like that, singing, Sting, right? Because I think most people here would know about Yeah, because he’s gone most of his adult life.

Alyssa Vagnoni  12:08

You’re promoting it, yeah, yeah. It’s awesome. We’ll

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Nestor Aparicio  12:10

find out what he thinks about the Orioles and the Yankees. Ken Singleton’s group is a cool kids campaign List of agnonis. Here she is. Are you? What’s your title?

Alyssa Vagnoni  12:20

Again, the event and Outreach Coordinator. All right, I

Nestor Aparicio  12:22

don’t want to call you the President or give you some big title. I don’t have a title. Yeah. How could folks find you?

Alyssa Vagnoni  12:29

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Amelia, yes. Alyssa at Cool Kids campaign.org

Nestor Aparicio  12:33

A L Y S S A, yes. There’s a lot of different ways to spell a list,

Alyssa Vagnoni  12:39

1s A, l y, s, s, a, the best way. Alyssa at Cool Kids campaign.org,

Nestor Aparicio  12:45

thanks a lot. Thank you. Get you a cup of soup here, a bowl of soup. We’re doing a cup of Super Bowl. It is our cherry and community initiative all week long. It’s all brought to you by our friends at GBMC, and we’ve had some very important conversations with them earlier in the week. They’re right down the road here, just like the cool kids campaign here at Towson timoni, up and down York Road, we have the candy cane cash. You got number 59 there. I hope you. I hope you win 30 grand. Alyssa, you know, I gave 100 away the other day. We had a $20 winner. The other day I scanned the $10 winner. You know, this works. Can you scratch you scratch it off. I scratch that off. And I’m gonna, I’m gonna find out if you won. Right now, is that all right? Now, is that? All right? We do that. You do the scratchy scratch. You gotta scratch a prize check. That’s all you gotta do. Oh, you got a little scratcher, scratcher. Okay, go scratch a prize check. Here. I got, I gotta, I got a knife. I can’t do it because it’s your thing. So the way we do this at Maryland lottery is, you empty lottery, you download the app, and then you got the little special scanner. All right? You feel lucky. I always feel like, All right, so you hold the ticket up like this, and I’m gonna scan it like this, and it’s gonna tell me whether you’re a winner, not if you win, we get confetti. I hope you win. I hope I win too. I’m sorry I tried.

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Alyssa Vagnoni  14:02

Okay, next time, I’ll

Nestor Aparicio  14:04

get you a cup of Super Bowl. It’s all brought to by the Maryland lottery. We just had a little bit fun. I was hoping for confetti Museum. Like it looks like a

Alyssa Vagnoni  14:15

good time.

Nestor Aparicio  14:16

Well, it makes it more fun for me when you win. Yeah, it does. I am Nestor. We’re back for more from Casas. We have more friends stopping by. Denise, buckman’s here. She’s got guests. We are going to be here this week. But if you have a charity, if it’s near and dear to your heart, it’s near and dear to mine, so just email me. Nestor Baltimore positive.com we’ll do exactly we did with Lissa, but I’ll be I’ll be nicer, I’ll be kinder, I’ll be gentler, all that stuff. I was really hard on shoulder and cold here earlier, we started talking about the Epstein files and, oh boy, that brings that to Venezuelan and me back for more Timonium. Stay with us. We’re Baltimore positive. You.