WHITESBORO, TX- Texomans came together Friday night, to stand behind a little boy who's battling a chronic disease. He's not even from this area but he's already had an impact on an entire community.

Shad Reed has coached the Whitesboro Bearcats for the past few years. He's well liked and well known in the community. So when his 7-year old nephew was diagnosed with Cystinosis, a disease that affects the little boy's kidneys, area residents decided to give back to Coach Reed and his nephew Mason.

At tonight's varsity Basketball game in Whitesboro vs. Van Alstyne, the star of the game wasn't a bearcat or a panther. It was Whitesboro coach, Shad Reed's 7-year old nephew, Mason Reed.

"He's a lively little kid. He loves sports and he's a big baseball player,” said Shad Reed.

Friday night at the Whitesboro gym, folks turned out to support Mason through a benefit called “Shoot for the cure.”

"We're trying to raise awareness and raise money for the Cystinosis Research Network. We do this every year and just try to get it out to the public because it's really rare and not a lot of people know about it,” said Shad Reed.

Mason's father, Ryan Reed says Cystinosis, which affects the Kidney's requires a great deal of medical attention.

"His kidney's don't filter out what they're supposed to and it eventually calcifies inside the kidneys and it'll shut 'em down,” said Ryan Reed.

Reed says he's so proud so many people who don't even know Mason turned out to support his son.

"It's awesome to know that people will give their support to someone they've never even met before,” said Ryan Reed.

All the proceeds from the game will go towards research for Cystinosis.