At Team IMPACT, we hope that what we do goes far beyond the game. It lives in the relationships built, the moments shared, and the lasting connections that carry families through their hardest days. This Child Life Specialist and Social Worker Month, we’re proud to celebrate the people who make that impact possible every single day.
For Lynn LaRocca, Senior Case Manager – High Profile Teams, the most meaning is often found in helping others understand what social work truly looks like. “My favorite thing about working at Team IMPACT is getting to talk about what I do as a social worker,” she said. “There’s a misconception that social workers are solely individual therapists, or only work in schools, or remove kids from unsafe situations. When I get to share my day-to-day work at Team IMPACT, interaction, connection, and joy with others, hearing ‘that is amazing’ or ‘that’s so cool’ or ‘I’ve never heard about that’ is the best.”
At Team IMPACT, the goal of our social workers and child life specialists is authenticity, advocacy, and creating spaces where children facing serious illness can find joy, belonging, and strength through team. That perspective doesn’t stay within the bounds of the job—it shapes everyday life. Every day, the perspective and experiences she has learned through Team IMPACT are present. “Coming from a hospital setting and being at Team IMPACT for over seven years now, my work truly solidifies that no one experience, interaction, diagnosis, time-period is really that hard,” Lynn says. “The kids and families I work with regularly share the joy, gratitude, and love they have towards their team, coaches and Team IMPACT, even when things are medically fragile, or uncertain.”
It’s a perspective rooted in resilience, one that reminds us how powerful connection can be, even in the most difficult moments. And some of those moments stay with us forever.
In 2022, Lynn was the case manager assigned to Kansas Men’s Basketball and their Team IMPACT teammate, JP, during the NCAA Men’s Tournament. Team IMPACT helped coordinate travel for JP and his family as the team advanced through the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. But when Kansas reached the Final Four, an unexpected obstacle arose—JP’s father was scheduled for jury duty. “JP had been so sick, relapsed multiple times and likely was not going to survive his illness,” Lynn said, “so as their case manager, their advocate, I called the courthouse where Tom was ordered to appear. I shared JP and KU’s beautiful story and the court clerk said ‘Oh my god, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. He’s not coming to jury duty!’”
With that one phone call, Lynn helped secure the experience of a lifetime for JP and his family. Later that week, they boarded a plane headed to the Final Four. That season ended, as JP and his parents cheered loudly for his team, and Kansas won the National Championship. The Jayhawks credit JP with being the missing piece they needed to secure that win. JP received a National Championship ring, participated in the team parade, and made friends that became more like brothers. When JP passed away in January 2024, he was laid to rest in his Jayhawks gear surrounded by the entire KU basketball team, coaching staff, and athletic director.
This is the heart of Team IMPACT. These are not just moments, but memories. Not just connections, but community. “Community means a lot of things,” Lynn says. “Team IMPACT has brought so many people into my life that I would have never otherwise met. It has allowed me and my family to have experience, opportunities, and friendships never anticipated we would have.”
Lynn recalls another memory where Team IMPACT brought new friends into her community. Seven years ago, Lynn was the case manager for Oregon volleyball and Danielle, who the team nicknamed their “Little Duck.” For two years, Lynn managed their relationship, becoming close with both the Oregon coaching staff and Danielle’s family. “Three years ago, my family and I traveled to Oregon, spent time with the team and family, and I regularly get mail from them,” Lynn said. Just recently, Lynn sent a message of support to the former Oregon coach and Danielle’s mom as Danielle, now 15, went into the operating room for a procedure. “While I am no longer their case manager, I am still a support,” Lynn said, “someone who cares and has remained consistent.” And this week, Little Duck secured her driving permit.
That consistency, that willingness to stay, to support, to show up – in the light moments, and the dark ones, is what defines child life specialists and social workers. It’s what turns teammates into family and moments into lifelong connections.
This month and every month, we celebrate the individuals who make this work possible—our clinical team who advocates fiercely, cares deeply, and reminds us all what it means to love the work you do.
