KYA'S SMILES FOUNDATION

In December 2011, nine months after losing our infant daughter to a respiratory virus on top of her leukemia, we returned to the halls of St Jude Children's Research Hospital. This time we were not heading to a check-up appointment or to the medicine room for chemo or to get a spinal tap, but we were there for a different mission. Instead of fighting for our own daughter's life, we were there to make the lives of other families still fighting a little brighter.  As we handed out cards that included checks from the money we raised at our first annual Kya's Smiles golf tournament, we saw the look of relief and joy on the families faces.  We may have helped a family who could not otherwise buy Christmas presents for their other children.  Or our envelope may have assisted in bills that were going unpaid as a result of a parent quitting his or her job  to care for their child.  Or it could have been used for gas money for the other family members to travel back and forth to visit and help. For any of these reasons, we knew we were fulfilling the mission of Kya and we were carrying on the work she started here on Earth and truly giving back to these families who are in such a tough and devastating time.  All of this is why Kya's Smiles foundation exists today.

My husband Pavan and I founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Kya's Smiles Foundation (www.kyassmiles.com), in honor of one of our twin daughters, Kya Bliss Kapur who was born on January 28, 2010 alongside her sister Jasmin. At 8 weeks old, Kya was diagnosed with infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (infant ALL) and we were sent from FL to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where we lived for a year receiving amazing care and support. She endured multiple chemotherapies and battled for her life at just a mere 5 lbs. After enduring a roller coaster year and with a compromised immune system, Kya caught RSV, a severe respiratory virus, in January 2011. Sadly on March 19, 2011 at just 13.5 months old, Kya was sent back home.

Kya inspired us to give back and to open our hearts to other families who are enduring what we went through. When your child is diagnosed with cancer, your world crumbles, your heart hurts, and you enter into a life you never imagined could be and you are completely devastated. We know; we experienced it. But we also learned the kindness of the human spirit and the love and generosity from people, many of whom were complete strangers.  This uplifting and humbling experience changed us and made us want to do more and to truly live out our human kindness.

While we lived in the long term housing, Target House, and the hospital, we received many acts of kindness.  Friends, coworkers, and strangers donated skymiles so Pavan could fly back and forth between his job and the hospital.  We received care packages of diapers and clothing for the baby girls.  When winter came, people sent us coats and cold weather attire since we did not have the time to go shopping. We received gift cards for coffee shops and local restaurants so we could have  a treat and feel like we had some normalcy. We knew we wanted to provide this for other families.

The first year after Kya passed away we hosted our inaugural Kya's Smiles golf tournament.  With the money we raised, we wrote out checks and put them in envelopes and visited St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, and Target House and handed out the envelopes to patient families.  It was the most amazing and heartwarming experience we have ever had and we knew this was what we were supposed to do and that we would truly honor our daughter Kya in the biggest way possible by continuing to do this. Then the thank you letters we received from patients and families really emphasized our mission.

Kya's Smiles work to date

We have an annual Kya's Smiles golf tournament that takes place in West Palm Beach , FL, where we lived until June 2013. This November 2021 will be our 10th annual event. To date we have raised about $400,000 from the golf tournaments.  We have also hosted smaller events each year in Florida and now Las Vegas, which included a family fun festival, an art and wine event, give back nights with percentage of proceeds donations, Christmas caroling for a cause, a corn hole tournament, a "Sweat-a-thon" bootcamp event, a family art and music festival, and the Inaugural Las Vegas Kya's Smiles Super Run.   

Currently Kya's Smiles provides financial support via cash and gift cards to various families who have a child with any form of childhood cancer.  These families are from anywhere in the United States that we have learned about. 

KYA'S SMILES GOALS

We have expanded our impact to families from anywhere across the nation with extra local support in the South FL area and the Las Vegas, NV area where we currently live. We give to children from anywhere across the Nation and have supported families in India and Mexico internationally too. In 2020, we sent about $25,000 to families throughout the US and even India and we also delivered meals to our local Cure 4 the Kids clinic in Las Vegas, NV and fed 40 families there. The outpouring of appreciation that we get from the families is so beautiful and is just the reason to keep on going!

Since we have experienced firsthand the life of cancer patient parents, we know how difficult and stressful life can be during that time and any gesture of kindness can make a huge difference in these families' lives. With your assistance, we can expand our presence and truly give back and honor our daughter Kya.

 

ABOUT PEDIATRIC CANCER

Childhood cancer is a non-discriminating, life-threatening disease that affects millions of children and their families on a daily basis. As a society, we are capable of addressing this destructive disease that affects the world's most precious assets…..our children.  Childhood cancer does not receive the funding that other types of cancers do and this makes our work that much harder.  Forty three children are diagnosed daily with childhood cancer, and 7 children die every day.  Those are 50 reasons to support Kya's Smiles.   

Kya's Smiles is happy to be able to provide support directly to families fighting for their children's lives through monetary donations and gift cards to help ease their minds and empower them.

 

QUICK FACTS ABOUT KYA'S SMILES 

WHAT IS KYA'S SMILES?

  • Kya's Smiles is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation that began from the loss of a 13 month old baby girl named Kya Bliss Kapur and was inspired by the amazing physical, emotional, and financial support her family received throughout their journey.

  • During their year long stay in Memphis as patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Kya and her family witnessed firsthand the courage, strength, and optimism each family has during their fight against pediatric cancer and unwavering support and care St. Jude provides.

  • We hope to foster this continued support into a national movement for awareness, support, and change.

 

WHY KYA'S SMILES

  • 100% of our profits are given directly to patients and families from around the nation and world who are fighting for their lives.

  • Families lives are completely disrupted to care for a sick child and they need financial assistance.

  • Children battle both the short term and long term side effects which need constant help and attention.

  • We want families to have options for care and they need financial assistance for this.

  • It doesn't have to take years and cost so many lives. We need to band together and rally for our children… and their children. Let's carry on Kya's mission to support and love and provide assistance to families in need.