ABOUT KAILA'S KOMFORT
Hi, I am Kaila Mellos, the founder of Kaila's Komfort, and here is the story of how our 501(c)(3) came about.
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When I was 14-years old, I earned my Silver Award, the highest award a Cadette Girl Scout can earn. My task was to find a problem that I was passionate about fixing, and then come up with a solution and implement change. What I created was Kaila’s Komfort. The goal of my project was to provide comfort and helpful items to those newly diagnosed with CRMO, and to let the person and their family know they were not alone. Since I had gone through this personally, I knew firsthand what it felt like to receive this diagnosis and what would have provided comfort in the beginning of this lonely journey. I advertised on an online support group that my Mom belonged to, and quickly found that many families wanted and needed this support for their child. I was soon sending out care packages around the world to those newly diagnosed with CRMO.
When my Girl Scout project ended, I decided to continue with Kaila’s Komfort because it filled a very large gap in supporting those newly diagnosed with CRMO. I received so many notes from parents and kids telling me how their care package had positively impacted them. One note in particular really touched my heart: a Mom had written that her son had multiple lesions in his jaw and he hadn’t been able to smile in months. She included a picture with her note, and what I saw was a boy smiling from ear to ear, beaming with happiness! It was apparent that I had accomplished the goal of this project – to bring comfort and to let those newly diagnosed with CRMO know they were not alone. In 2014, I turned Kaila’s Komfort into an official 501(c)(3) non-profit so I could apply for larger grants, and more officially organize a small community. I expanded my mission to include support for parents and siblings as well because this disease negatively affects entire families - both the diagnosis process and ongoing treatment and effects of the disease are difficult.
Since 2014, we have raised funds for CRMO research, donating to the CRMO Research funds at Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Iowa. Four years ago, we planned the largest worldwide CRMO event to date – the CRMO Awareness Walk-A-Thon/5K. For the past four years, teams all over the world have registered, organized and walked on the same day, and we virtually join hands to raise awareness, funds for CRMO research, and show each other that we are all in this together – nobody fights alone.
Since 2014, we have sent out over 1,200 care packages to CRMO Warriors and their family members all over the world. For me personally, the rewards of giving back have been a true gift to me. I have met many extraordinary children, teens and their families that are following the same journey as me and my family. I am blessed to get to meet real superheroes every single day.
To learn more about Kaila's Komfort, please visit our website: www.kailaskomfort.org.