Three area nonprofits recently teamed up with the Reading Royals to raise awareness and funds to help fight pediatric cancer.
Pediatric Cancer Awareness Night was held during the Jan. 7 hockey game at Santander Arena and honored survivors, loved ones and families affected by the disease.
A portion of ticket sales benefitted two Berks-based nonprofits — Lauren’s Foundation and Laney’s Legacy of Hope — as well as Elle’s Angels Foundation, based in Langhorne, Bucks County.
During a ceremony before the game, Lauren’s Foundation presented a $5,000 donation to Elle’s Angels in memory of Spring Township resident Ryder Knechtle, 6, who died Sept. 22 following a multiyear battle with an inoperable brain tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or DIPG. The disease is mostly found in children ages 4 to 11. There is still no cure, and treatment options are limited.
The funds were raised by Lauren’s Foundation at its annual Fitzy’s Halloween 5K run in October. At the request of Ryder’s parents, Tobias and Jenna Knechtle, the money was set aside for donation to Elle’s Angels, a foundation established to fund research for treatments and a cure for DIPG.
Pediatric Cancer Awareness Night is an annual event for the Royals, and is important for the money it raises and the support it provides for families, said Chris Hazel, director of group sales.
“It’s a really inspiring night,” he said.
Later this season the team will benefit other causes during games, including the Feb. 4 Pink in the Rink game to raise money for breast cancer research.
Elle’s Angels was founded by Derek and Kristi Caruso of Langhorne in memory of their daughter Elle. A few weeks after her fourth birthday, Elle was diagnosed with a DIPG brain tumor. She battled her diagnosis for 14 months before succumbing to complications on July 30, 2021, at the age of 5. Derek is a former Berks County resident, graduating from Wilson High School in 2000.
Lauren’s Foundation was established by Michael Fitzgerald, Mary Ann Cairo and Elizabeth Cairo in memory of Lauren Fitzgerald, a Berks resident who died from a brain tumor in 2005. The foundation’s mission includes supporting families with a seriously or terminally ill child, increasing brain tumor and organ donation awareness, and providing scholarships for Berks students who have succeeded in school despite adverse life challenges and circumstances.
Laney’s Legacy of Hope was formed in memory of Delaney Brown of West Reading, known as Laney, who passed away on Christmas morning 2013 at the age of 8, months after being diagnosed with AML with monosomy 7, a rare form of the disease.
The foundation assists research projects and treatment options for pediatric high risk cancer patients with the goal of finding cures and means of prevention, and supports children and their families who are dealing with the disease.