Nice*Day #13: Hoosier Championship Game*Day
Before Nice*Day #13 - the Inspiration
HANDF's youngest volunteers participated in “The Walk” with Hoosier the Bison and IU's football team, band and cheerleaders during Homecoming Weekend during fall break this year. Our family kept saying how it felt like such a Nice*Day experience and wished we could give a similar experience to a family fighting cancer.
I was overwhelmed with emotion being back on IU's campus for the first time since starting Have a Nice Day Foundation, remembering roommates, sorority sisters, little brothers, friends and classmates who fought cancer at a young age and helped to inspire HANDF, including a most extraordinary mentor of mine lost in her 20s.
I quickly identified an opportunity to make a Nice*Day happen if IU stayed undefeated and made the Big 10 Championship in Indianapolis. I’m not sure that anyone was more excited when Omar Cooper Jr. made the extraordinary catch-of-the-year deep in the end zone! Our team quickly got to work planning out a Big 10 Championship Nice Game*Day for an extraordinary family with an Indiana alumni dad fighting brain cancer.
I was overwhelmed with emotion being back on IU's campus for the first time since starting Have a Nice Day Foundation, remembering roommates, sorority sisters, little brothers, friends and classmates who fought cancer at a young age and helped to inspire HANDF, including a most extraordinary mentor of mine lost in her 20s.
I quickly identified an opportunity to make a Nice*Day happen if IU stayed undefeated and made the Big 10 Championship in Indianapolis. I’m not sure that anyone was more excited when Omar Cooper Jr. made the extraordinary catch-of-the-year deep in the end zone! Our team quickly got to work planning out a Big 10 Championship Nice Game*Day for an extraordinary family with an Indiana alumni dad fighting brain cancer.
Our Traveling MascotS, Mimi & GUS
Every family that receives a Nice*Day or Sunshine Basket now receives a stuffed animal version of the HANDF mascot / therapy dog, Mimi, and a miniature version for the kids, Gus/Gigi. These Warmies stuffed animals can be warmed up in the microwave to provide heating support to areas in pain, or to give an extra cozy cuddle and emotional support when needed. As this was HANDF’s first grant outside the metro area, Mimi and Gus/Gigi got to travel in style down to the game, even getting to hang out with the kind pilots in the cockpit for a bit.
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Mimi’s big ten championship FAN FEST adventures
Once in Indianapolis, Mimi went hunting for team swag for the family at the Fan Fest, took photos with the tournament trophy, and met many wonderful humans.
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Mimi even convinced the arch rival's exuberant, infamous fan, Buck-I-Guy to send his well wishes to the family:
The Night Before
Our HANDF daymakers picked up IU gear for the whole family and dropped it off at the family’s house the night before, so they would be ready to go on game day. Indiana t-shirts for all, stuffies and a football for the kids and lots of IU tattoos to get into the spirit.
In addition to the Indiana University gear and swag, our volunteers added personalized touches for members of the family - an oversized cardboard gingerbread house for the kids to color, toys & treats for the sweet new dog, surprise holiday make-it-mini balls, sports cards, snacks and a pancake breakfast set, as we had learned at the intake phone call that dad and the kids loved to bake and make pancakes together. Finally, we included prebuilt gingerbread houses for the family to decorate together.
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Hoosier Championship Game*Day
Pre-Game
Before the game we arranged for the family to enjoy the Top Golf Swing Suite for two hours, enjoying a variety of golf, sports themed competitions and video games together. They arrived to the private suite with personalized drinks and snacks arriving for them and were able to order dinner and enjoy lots of fun together.
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Big 10 Championship
HANDF scored amazing seats for the family to see the game up nice and close in the end zone. The kids danced and cheered the Hoosiers to an amazing victory over Ohio State. A special thanks to the IU Football team for all of their hard work to make impossible championship dreams come true! During the game, the family received an extra football thrown to them, a fun memento from the event. After the game, the kids were able to give high fives to the players as they came off the field.
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After the Game & a Hoosiers National Championship
Dad was able to continue cheering on the Hoosiers to victory at the Rose Bowl, another once in a lifetime experience!
Read his story and see photos here:
https://www.21alivenews.com/2026/01/02/indiana-fan-finds-inspiration-hoosiers-rose-bowl-victory-during-cancer-battle/
Read his story and see photos here:
https://www.21alivenews.com/2026/01/02/indiana-fan-finds-inspiration-hoosiers-rose-bowl-victory-during-cancer-battle/
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Finally, the Hoosiers achieved a perfect season and a National Championship - an extraordinary feat that not many IU fans ever dreamed possible. What a year to be an IU alum!
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Thank you for allowing us to grant you this special Nice Game*Day and thank you to our donors and volunteers who helped to make it happen. We hope you enjoyed your Hoosier Big Ten Championship Game*Day and the resulting Hoosier victories and undefeated National Championship.
We wish you the very best in the future. Have a Nice*Day!
