by Katie Newingham

More than 1500 people flooded Blackbaud Stadium on Daniel Island Saturday morning. Parents toted car seats through turnstiles and children straddled their grandparents shoulders as they shuffled through the crowds to get their Krispy Kreme donuts and Starbucks coffee.

This family friendly event was two-fold: to bring awareness to the plight of families of chronically and critically ill children and to kick off fund-raising efforts for “The Journey House,” a place 5-year-old Ansley McEvoy says families can come to find "helping, loving and joyful people."

One year ago, Ansley was diagnosed with stage three cancer. During a routine outpatient chemotherapy treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina, she noticed many families didn’t have a place to stay while their son or daughter was undergoing treatment.

Because MUSC is the state children’s hospital, family’s travel from all over South Carolina for their child's care, often racking up debt from hotel stays in the process.

Ansley decided she wanted there to be a place just for these families, so she colored a picture of “The Journey House,” a place her parent’s say “will offer hope, relieve burdens, and strengthen families.”

Mason Moise, a family friend, decided he wanted to do something in honor of Ansley’s vision – he wanted to make history in her name. He coordinated Ansley’s Attempt, a massive campaign to build the largest mosaic in the Guinness World Record. He took Ansley’s picture and digitally broke it up into more than 1000 pieces and then got each piece printed on Styrofoam blocks.

Word got out about Ansley’s Attempt, and volunteers and sponsors lined up to help make Ansley’s dream come true.

As spectators enjoyed taking pictures with the Chick-Fil-a cow, volunteers were handing out rainbow colored drawstring bags to each family. Inside was information on how to support “The Journey House.” There were even architectural simulations of the home next to a table where t-shirts were being sold for $15 to support the cause.

At 9 a.m., Dusty Bryant, the announcer, came over the loud speaker inviting everyone to get seated. Students from local high schools started bringing out the mosaic pieces and laying them on the field.

Almost an hour later, Ansley boarded a hot air balloon for a test drive of sorts. She and her family were hoisted up almost 50 feet in the air over the droves of people now lining the field. If the trip was successful, she would stay in the air while the crowd below held up the pieces of her picture, but the wind was relentless, so the team of organizers decided it was too dangerous for her to be in the air.

Instead, Ansley watched from the stadium balcony as groups of people were meticulously lined up on the soccer field. The volunteers waited with the boards over their heads for ten minutes while the adjudicator counted each piece.

“Today you have 1458 and you have a new Guinness World Record,” Morgan Wilber announced to the crowd.

The cluster of people cheered. Ansley stood clinging to her father’s hip, as she said softly into the microphone, “Hi, everybody. Thank you for being here for Ansley’s Attempt.” But the masses erupted with excitement clanging cowbells, clapping and whistling when Amy McEvoy announced, “Just this morning, Ansley took her final dose of oral chemotherapy.”

Ansley is expected to make a full recovery, but as her father explained, “There’s probably somebody, today, getting the news that we got last year.”

That’s why the family has committed to building “The Journey House,” a home that will be located in close proximity to MUSC with 12-16 family units aimed at providing services that will reduce costs for displaced families. For more information visit www.thejourneyhouse.org.

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