Minnesota Lynx Sign Five Honorary Members to Create ‘Dream Team’
Sun, May 1, 2016, 6:39 PM
Today the Lynx announced the signing of five new honorary members to their roster: Kira Jayne Reymann (Special Olympics), Grace Rogge (Defending the Blue Line), Linae Larson (HopeKids), Taylor Lieber (University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital) and Razziya (MN ADOPT). Each new member will be paired with a player of the Lynx squad as a mentor for today’s practice and through the season. The mentors will include Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles, Renee Montgomery and Jia Perkins.
In addition to signing an honorary contract, the new members of the Lynx team will have one-on-one time with their mentor, take part in practice, run through skills drills and eat lunch in the Lynx players lounge. The “Dream Team” will also be honored on court prior to an upcoming game this season, highlighting their time with the team.
Kira Jayne Reymann, 16, comes to the Lynx from Special Olympics Minnesota and plays point guard for the Orono Unified basketball team. Earlier this year, she represented Special Olympics Minnesota at the National Project Unified conference in Phoenix, Arizona and attended the SOMN Youth Summit at the University of St. Thomas.
Grace Rogge, 10, comes to the Lynx from Defending the Blue Line and is a fifth grader at Oxbow Creek Elementary in Oxbow, Minnesota. Rogge started playing basketball in third grade and last season made the Champlin Park traveling team. Rogge’s father, a member of the Minnesota Air National Guard, deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2012 and currently is assigned to the 133rd Air Lift Wing at Fort Snelling.
Linae Larson, 12, comes to the Lynx from HopeKids, and aspires to be an author when she grows up. Larson has collected stuffed animals along her journey with mitochondrial disease and food allergies. She and her stuffed animals have enjoyed traveling and meeting new people through the HopeKids network.
Taylor Lieber, 19, comes to the Lynx from the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Lieber was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in 2012 and underwent chemotherapy and proton radiation. Shortly after graduating from Edina High School, she was diagnosed with an even rarer secondary blood cancer, High-Risk AML Leukemia, as a result from the treatment used fighting her first cancer. In August, she received a stem cell transplant at Masonic Children’s Hospital, and over 260 days later, continues to recover from transplant-related complications. Now, after four years, she is cancer free.
Razziya, 13, comes to the Lynx from MN ADOPT, and loves basketball, football, soccer and kickball. He is a big Baltimore Ravens fan and interacts with peers by teaching basketball and coordinating a team. He is very interested in mythology and science at school.
The Lynx will kick of their 18th season in the WNBA at home on Saturday, May 14 against the Phoenix Mercury at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN. A limited number of lower level full-season memberships are currently available by visiting http://event.wolveslynx.com/membership or by calling 612-673-8400.
About Special Olympics Minnesota:
Special Olympics Minnesota provides year-round sports training and competition in 17-Olympic type sports for more than 8,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Through Special Olympics’ athletic, health and leadership programs, people with intellectual disabilities transform themselves, their communities and the world.
About Defending the Blue Line:
Defending The Blue Line is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created by a group of National Guard soldiers from Minnesota. The charity assists families of all branches of the military with costs associated with youth sports. They provide financial assistance for registration fees, free equipment, summer camps, and send many deserving families on a special night out to watch pro, collegiate, and minor league sports games before or after deployment. DTBL is also excited to announce an upcoming new brand for basketball debuting this July!
About HopeKids:
Since 2006, HopeKids Minnesota has been providing an ongoing calendar of events and activities for families who have a child with a life-threatening medical condition, such as cancer. Each month, HopeKids schedules a variety of sporting events, live performances, museum visits or other types of fun activities for the whole family. HopeKids strives to keep kids focused on the future, looking forward to the next fun event around the corner, rather than dwelling on what they are dealing with in the present. All of HopeKids events are focused on the whole family to prevent siblings from being unintentionally overlooked, bring families together that understand their journey and are offered at no cost to families. HopeKids has chapters in Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota and Texas.
About University of Minnesota Health:
University of Minnesota Health represents a collaboration between University of Minnesota Physicians, Fairview Health Services and University of Minnesota Medical Center. Working together, we provide exceptional care in a wide range of specialties at our hospitals, clinics and in community-based facilities throughout the region. Visit: www.mhealth.org.
About MN Adopt:
MN ADOPT, formerly the Minnesota Adoption Resource Network, began in 1980 by a group of adoptive and foster parents who became alarmed by the damage inflicted on Minnesota foster children by long term, multiple out-of-home placements. Over 35 years of programming, MN ADOPT’s mission has expanded to assure the right of every child to a permanent, nurturing family; to advocate on behalf of adoptive, kinship and foster families; and to maximize opportunities for successful adoptions.
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