FORTVILLE — For more than two decades, the Fortville community has rallied behind a local family and their daughter, Kamden, “Kammy”, who lives with a rare genetic disorder.
Kammy’s Kause, a two-day music festival, was started 21 years ago by her father, Jared Hiner.
“It was created in an effort to raise money, awareness and funding for a very rare chromosome disorder called 4P Minus,” Hiner said.
4P Minus, also known as Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, is a condition that causes a wide range of developmental delays.
“Everyone's different. For Kamden, a lot of developmental delays,” Hiner said. “So Kamden is 23 years old. She's about four and a half feet tall, and she's like 60 pounds.”
Though the condition affects each person differently, families who attend the festival find comfort in shared experiences.
“It really provides that support — not just for us but for them — to know that they're not just the only ones going through this,” one parent said.
“They're able to be with other people and other children,” said Sylvia Renfro, a parent and board member of the 4P Minus support group.
She, along with another family, travels hundreds of miles to be a part of the annual event.
This year, families from Texas made the trip to Fortville.
“This event just helps us be able to put on regional gatherings and national conferences, that sort of thing,” said Stephanie Benson, a parent and member of the 4P Support Group. “So we want to support it as much as we can.”
Local businesses also support and feel the impact of the community’s involvement.
“It's just been incredible to see all the new faces and new people that support Kammy’s now support the restaurants and businesses and stuff in town,” said Jake Burgess, owner of Burgess Restaurant Group, which includes six restaurants, including FoxGardin in Fortville.
What started as a small grassroots effort has since grown into a large annual gathering.
“It's surreal, to be honest,” Hiner said. “When we started back at the old park, there were maybe 50 people that showed up.
Now that’s grown to thousands.
Hiner said Kammy’s Kause is about more than raising money.
“Kammy’s Kause was a way for us to say thank you back to that support group — and to raise money so that we could fund the 4P Support Group so they can continue to raise awareness, fund research projects,” he said.
In 2004, the non-profit raised $1,000. In 2024, it brought in $126,000 for the year.
But the greatest return, Hiner said, is the emotional growth the experience fosters in his own children and others in the community.
“They grow up with something most kids don't get an opportunity to grow up with — just a huge chunk of empathy, and of wanting to do better and be better,” he said.
This year’s festival included live music, food trucks, a kids’ zone, a silent auction, a motorcycle ride and more.
It was all free to the public, thanks to community sponors and volunteers.
Proceeds raised from Kammy’s Kause go to support the 4P Minus Support Group, which offers resources, advocacy and education for families navigating the disorder.
