Santa Rosa Beach & Freeport Children Battle Cancer through Play

State Farm has teamed up with Roc Solid Foundation to provide playsets to six kids fighting cancer in Florida, including Kyla, a 4 year old girl from Santa Rosa Beach and Paxton, a 5 year old boy from Freeport, Florida.

State Farm sponsorship supports the nonprofit's Roc Solid On Demand program, which provides playsets to families fighting pediatric cancer anywhere in the United States. Kyla’s and Paxton’s family received all the materials and hardware, as well as play kits of Roc Solid swag to make it a great day.

Kyla is battling Medulloblastoma, the most common type of cancerous brain tumor in children. She is tube fed since starting chemo but is eating chocolate now. Kyla loves dog, the colors pink and purple along with golden rainbows. Kyla’s playset has not been built yet.

Paxton is battling Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that progresses rapidly without treatment. Paxton loves hunting, Nerf Blasters and shooting zombies!

Roc Solid Foundation's mission is to build hope for families fighting pediatric cancer through the power of play. The organization believes that “play defeats cancer,” because when kids are playing, cancer is the farthest thing from their minds. Additionally, with compromised immune systems during treatment, kids fighting cancer often cannot visit public places or interact with other children, so a backyard playset provides them with a safe, germ-free place to play.

Roc Solid has been building backyard playsets since 2009, but since Roc Solid On Demand launched in 2020, the organization’s reach has expanded tremendously. They plan to provide at least 700 playsets to kids fighting cancer throughout the U.S. this year.

"State Farm has been an amazing partner to us," says Roc Solid Foundation founder and pediatric cancer survivor Eric Newman. "We are so grateful for their continued support as this new program has evolved, so we can continue to provide play to kids during a very difficult time."

“Giving back to communities where we live and work is a big part of who we are at State Farm,” said Jose Soto, State Farm Corporate Responsibility Analyst. “We are excited to partner with Roc Solid and give Kyla and Paxton a safe place to play and make memories with his family. Seeing their smiles as they play on their new playsets is what this program is all about.”

For additional information on the Roc Solid Foundation, visit: https://rocsolidfoundation.org/