May 1, 2023 By Carol Britton Meyer
Maddie’s Promise, a non-profit volunteer organization working to fund pediatric cancer research, will hold its 3rd Annual Gala on Friday, May 19, at South Shore Country Club from 7 to 11 p.m. to benefit “Maddie’s Wish for a Cure.”
“An Evening of Promise” — named in honor of Hingham’s Maddie McCoy, an energetic 11-year-old who passed away in May 2019 of Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer — will celebrate exciting strides in rare pediatric cancer research and share inspiring stories of courage. Despite everything she faced, Maddie never gave up and was an inspiration to all who knew her.
“Maddie was a bright, loving, active child who played soccer, competed in gymnastics, and was just busy living her life surrounded by friends,” her mother, Ann McCoy said. “When she passed away, it was her friends and their parents who rallied to our support and were really the force behind the creation of ‘Maddie’s Promise.’ Pediatric cancer research is woefully underfunded, and ‘An Evening of Promise’ is a fun way to raise the money we need to push research forward.”
Until the time of her passing, Maddie was living up to her promise to help others — drawing and writing inspirational messages, braiding bracelets, painting rocks, and creating artwork and a book with detailed plans to sell her creations to help those in need.
Building upon her bravery and kindness, Maddie’s Promise is working to help bring about positive change for young children battling pediatric cancer.
The upcoming event will feature cocktails, light fare, music and dancing, raffles, and a silent auction that includes weekend getaways, golf packages, tickets to Boston sporting events, and more. Gala tickets are $150 per person, with several levels of sponsorship available. For more details and to purchase tickets go to www.maddiespromise.org/annual-gala-2023.
The gala, hosted by Hingham broadcast journalist Ally Donnelly, is open to everyone and is an opportunity to thank supporters while at the same time raising critical funds for continued research. McCoy will present important news about developments in medical collaborations and progress in pediatric treatments, all focused on ultimately finding a cure for young cancer patients like Maddie.
“This event has made a lasting impact on our community and in our work to advance research in the heartbreaking race to end childhood cancer,” McCoy said. “There’s real excitement about advances that are happening with new ideas and methods of treatments. Gathering together for ‘An Evening of Promise’ gives us — and a lot of families out there — the strength to keep up the fight. Our friends and sponsors have been so loyal returning year after year, and tickets for this very festive gala sell fast. We’re all so excited to have some fun together!”
All funds raised go to Maddie’s Promise to promote pediatric cancer research and life-saving treatment for children. For more information about Maddie’s Promise and “An Evening of Promise” or to make a donation, go to www.maddiespromise.org.
Since its launch in September 2019, Maddie’s Promise has identified and funded more than $300,000 in initiatives to help fund impactful research for rare pediatric cancers.
In December, Maddie’s Promise and Summer’s Way made the initial investment to start the Rhabdomyosarcoma program at Beat Childhood Cancer Foundation — located at Levine Children’s Hospital and Atrium Health.
Summer’s Way’s mission is to find a cure for patients diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma and ultimately other childhood cancers, promote early detection, and serve as a source of support to patients and families impacted by childhood cancer.
Beat CC is funded by families and does not rely on government funding. “The Foundation was started as Beat Neuroblastoma (Beat NB) more than a decade ago by Patrick Lacey of Braintree,” McCoy said. “They have made great progress with NB and decided to use their experience to tackle additional childhood cancers. They do full genome sequencing on the children they treat, come up with an individual drug regimen for each child,. . . . and conduct experiments . . . to determine potential targets for clinical trials.”
McCoy is excited about this initiative and is hopeful that it will “move the needle for these kids.”