Weekly Roundup: Kate’s Place, Son honors mother top this week’s stories

A son has taken up his mother’s fight against cancer, and Kate’s Place is helping young adults in the special needs community. Catch up on everything from the past week in the Weekly Roundup.

Son takes up fight against cancer in honor of mother

In 2016, Mayhul Patel’s mother, Pushpa Patel, lost her battle to cancer, but he has since taken up the fight. For the past three years, Patel has been an avid fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

As a result, Patel has been nominated for 2019 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man of the Year. The honor ultimately goes to the nominee who raises the most funds for the LLS Philadelphia Chapter. Over the course of his 10-week fundraising campaign, Patel hopes to raise $50,000.

Kate’s Place helps special needs community tackle challenges of young adulthood

More than 10 years ago, JoAnn McNamee was at a Halloween party with some fellow parents of special needs young adults. Her daughter Kate, who has Down syndrome, was on the precipice of graduating high school, and she and some of her fellow parents were concerned about what the children’s future held after high school and how they would spend their time. McNamee decided she would fill the void.

In 2008, McNamee started “Kate’s Place,” a nonprofit run out of the First United Methodist Church of Moorestown that provides programming for young adults with special needs. At Kate’s Place, attendees socialize, take part in physical activities and build friendships. In the 11 years since the program’s founding, the program has grown, and the participants have grown with it having tackled the challenges of young adulthood together.