Chicago Bears award Fiona Campbell the 2022 Collin Wehr Scholarship

Earlier today the Chicago Bears announced that Grayslake North High School’s Fiona Campbell is the 2022 recipient of the Collin Wehr Scholarship. The scholarship program provides financial assistance to young cancer survivors or to the siblings of children who lost their battle with pediatric cancer.

Fiona was born with neurofibromatosis (NF1), a genetic disorder of the nervous system where tumors grow on nerve endings. She has bilateral optic gliomas, which is a tumor around the optic nerve, and also a brain tumor, both of which are stable. She has been on chemotherapy three different times and had a major surgery in 2017 to remove tumors from her back and spine. Fiona got to ring the no more chemo bell in 2017 and she’s always been focused on how to give back, which is why she plans to attend Carthage College (in Kenosha, Wisconsin) this fall with her major being special education.

Here’s the clip from Bears offensive lineman Teven Jenkins and chairman George H. McCaskey surprising Fiona and her family with the news of the $20,000 scholarship.

She’s on the junior council of Camp One Step, which is an organization that provides year round programs for children aged 5 through 19 who have been diagnosed with cancer. Camp One Step has been around for over 40 years helping nearly 17,000 kids in Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Midwest, and the Campbell family is having a fundraiser this June to raise money to send kids to camp. You can get more info in the flyer below.

Here’s more on the scholarship program, from the Bears website:

The Chicago Bears Collin Wehr Scholarship program provides financial assistance to young cancer survivors or the siblings of children who lost their battle with pediatric cancer. The scholarship program is designed to ease the financial and emotional hardships associated with fighting cancer and to provide the opportunity for young people affected by cancer to pursue their post-secondary education from an accredited university, college, community college, or vocational technical school.

The inspiration for this scholarship comes from our dear friend, Collin Wehr, who ended his battle with pediatric cancer in March 2013. Collin first visited Halas Hall in 2011 to fulfill his wish of being a NFL Network reporter and reporting live from Halas Hall alongside Tom Waddle. Collin and the Wehr family became a permanent part of the Bears family that day, and this scholarship serves as a tribute to this very special young man.