By Debbie Adams
Mainstream Mental Health Services, the Vinton Breakfast Lions Club, and many other
community partners joined together this past weekend for the Cam’s Purpose Benefit
Drawdown, benefiting William Byrd High School student Camden Thepsimuong and his family.
Cam is a student athlete who played defensive lineman on the football team and was one of the
best players on the tennis team. In July 2024, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of
bone cancer, after what was originally thought to be a meniscus tear. He has undergone
treatments in North Carolina and locally since then. He has been spending time this week having
chemotherapy at Roanoke Memorial.
Since his diagnosis, the community has reached out to support Cam and his family through
various fundraisers and benefits to help cope with costs related to treatment and travel. Therehave been dinners, Zumba parties, dances, a luau, a golf tournament, a pickleball tournament, a car rally, and many more events involving various clubs and organizations, and the school.
The Drawdown was held at the Vinton Moose Lodge on February 22. The Moose generously
donated the use of their building.
Cam’s mother, Charlene, said, “Saturday evening was a wonderful event that was put together by
many amazing and beautiful people. There were family members, friends, coaches, co-workers,
and many loved ones. Even Cam’s third grade teacher came out in support of Cam. There was a
silent auction where an autographed football from ‘Scary Terry’ with the Washington
Commanders was donated. A man who won the bid for the football then proceeded to gift it to
Cam, who was very touched at this act of kindness. It sincerely makes my heart smile coming
face to face with people at the event and being told how Cam has been so inspiring. He has so
much joy, so much strength, and so much life in that 16-year-old body.”
Charlene Thepsimuong is the Chief Operating Officer at Mainstream Mental Health Services.
CEO and President Mike Morris says, “Cam’s mother is a pillar of my business. She is admired
by all of our associates and especially me. She and her husband Anh have three sons. Cam is
their oldest. Charlene is very strong and a very sweet leader who is quietly, somehow juggling
the strain of managing Mainstream Mental Health and her family. She and Anh both have the
strength of spiritualism and Godliness to maintain their family and faith. Charlene is a very strong woman and has never asked for pity. They are taking care of Camden and his two brothers. She is amazing and an inspiration to me and everyone who knows her.”
Mainstream Mental Health Services CFO Rob Campbell says he was amazed at the generosity
and compassion of the community on display at the Drawdown and at the number of volunteers
who turned out to assist with the event.
Campbell says the company organized a golf tournament last fall, raising about $20,000. Those
involved met at Pok-E-Joe’s to discuss a follow-up and the idea of a drawdown was born. He
says Tim Greenway and Mike Morris were the “visionaries” for the event; Lions Hal Mabe and
Chris McCarty were some of the key figures in organizing the evening on February 22.
Campbell says he felt a “newfound respect for the Vinton community” and was impressed by
how the community at large responded to the fundraiser. With 149 tickets to sell at a price of
$100 each, the benefit sold out in under a month, several weeks in advance. There were about
190 guests attending.
For those who aren’t familiar with the term, a “drawdown” fundraiser basically involves
participants purchasing tickets that make them eligible for a grand prize. During the event, ticket
holders are eliminated, and the last ticket holder wins the prize. You can also make money at the
event from selling food and drinks, holding a silent auction, 50/50 drawings, etc.
Lion John Berry says there were several silent auction items at the Cam’s Purpose Drawdown,
including a Virginia Tech football helmet and the autographed football signed by wide receiver
Terry McLaurin, obtained by William Byrd Coach Brad Lutz.
About half of the volunteers were from Mainstream Mental Health, the other half from the Lions
Club. Some sold 50/50 tickets, others tended the food line, registered attendees, did set-up and
clean-up, and more. Several members of the Vinton Breakfast Lions, who host a drawdown
fundraiser each year, were instrumental in organizing the event, keeping things moving smoothly
and on-track throughout the evening. Some of those volunteers included Tim Greenway, Hal
Mabe, Chris McCarty, Rob Campbell, Mike Morris, and Ricky Spradlin.
Organizers also thanked Pok-E-Joe’s for catering, Brady’s, ALCOVA Mortgage of Vinton,
Riddell Sports, Aztec Rental, and “so many more.”
Campbell says many of the winners donated their winnings back to the family, including some of
the big winners (the grand prize of $5,000 was divided four ways). Campbell believes that once
the final calculations are in, the benefit will have raised between $17,000 and $18,000.
Upcoming events in Cam’s life are his 17 th birthday on March 17; his last week of chemo March
24-28; and he will be throwing out the first pitch at the Salem Red Sox game on April 19.
