Leukemia Fundraiser A Success for North Penn PAL, Knoebel Family

The first major event for the North Penn Police Activities League was a success Saturday at Penndale Middle School in Lansdale.

More importantly, it brought some more support to the Knoebel family, as Penndale Middle Schooler Matthew, 13, continues to go through medical treatment for his leukemia diagnosis.

"Right now, I'm a little overwhelmed," said North Penn PAL Executive Director Greg O'Brien. "All the people that showed up—the volunteers, the cops, the kids—it's a fantastic outpouring of community support."

The North Penn PAL organized the fundraiser for Knoebel and his family, which featured three "Cops vs. Kids" basketball games, Old Navy fashion shows, raffles, silent auctions and more.

In all three games, the North Penn middle schools' basketball teams were victorious over the cops.

"I'm sure the police were envisioning the basketball outcome to be a bit different," O'Brien said. "I'm glad to see the kids show their stuff."

O'Brien said the entire event was "phenomenal" and thanked all sponsors for their support.

Lansdale Area Fundraising Society (LAFS) made an appearance to present Knoebel's family with a $500 donation.

At present, Knoebel is at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, fighting a virus that his weak immune system caught following a successful bone marrow transplant. Knoebel has zero percent leukemia in his body.

"It's a great event that PAL put on for Matt. It brought the community together," said Tom Coughlin, fiance of Knoebel's mother, Christina Simpson. "The kids that he goes to school with really rallied together to help Matt."

Knoebel's aunt, Mary Aderman, of Lansdale, said the North Penn PAL and all the sponsors and volunteers have been amazing.

"I had tears in my eyes when I walked up and saw the signs. I'm overwhelmed with emotion of the support that the community and school has shown Matthew," Aderman said.

She said Matthew is doing exceptionally well and the virus is just another bump in the road. 

"He's wowed the doctors with how well he's doing," she said. "He's here in spirit."

North Penn PAL board member Reeves Miller, who emceed the event, said it was an all-around great day.

"There is a lot of support for Team Matt. We are looking forward to having other projects and fundraisers in the future," Miller said. "We would have loved to see more participation, but this is a busy time of year. Our main goal was to help Matt any way we can."

He said the North Penn PAL is open to sponsoring fundraisers for any child in the area going through a major illness or life event.

"If it comes up and they approach us, we will consider that," he said. 

The next major fundraiser for Knoebel is a June 1 Beef and Beer at Corpus Christi Church in Upper Gwynedd. Tickets are $25 per person. More information can be found here.

Keep up with Matthew's progress on his Caring Bridge blog here.