Berkeley Will 'Wear Gold' In Honor Of Girl Who Battled Cancer

BERKELEY, NJ — During a recent council meeting, Mayor Carmen Amato proclaimed Friday, Sept. 17 as Emiliana Day in Berkeley Township.

Emiliana Rose O'Brien died Dec. 1, 2015, following a six-month battle against osteosarcoma cancer. During her battle, she wondered why you always see pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness but you rarely heard anything about childhood cancer in comparison.

The O'Brien family founded the Emiliana's Hope Foundation in 2016 to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer and affected families.

Read more: Emiliana's Hope Foundation To Host Gift Auction In Bayville

A proclamation presented at the Aug. 23 council meeting encourages residents to wear gold on Friday, and display gold bows on homes and businesses in support of pediatric cancer patients and their families.

Read Berkeley’s full proclamation below:

WHEREAS, each year, thousands of children face the battle against cancer with inspiring hope and incredible bravery. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, an entire family and community are affected. The devotion of parents, grandparents, loved ones and friends creates a treasured network of support for these courageous children; and

WHEREAS, the month of September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, where we honor the young lives taken too soon and the survivors who face chronic health challenges; and

WHEREAS, we celebrate the progress made in treatment and recovery and we rededicate ourselves to fighting this disease so that all children may have the chance to live a full and healthy life; and

WHEREAS, we pay tribute to the health care professionals, researchers, social support organizations and parent advocacy groups who work together to provide hope, support families and find cures for childhood cancers. Together, we will carry on their work toward a future in which cancer no longer threatens the lives of children; and

WHEREAS, here in Berkeley Township, we have many parent advocacy and community organizations whose mission is to improve the lives of pediatric cancer patients with hope and give their families comfort, while creating awareness of pediatric cancer; and

WHEREAS, one of those groups is Emiliana's Hope; and

WHEREAS, Emiliana's Hope was founded to honor Emiliana O'Brien, who at the age of 13, earned her wings on December 1, 2015 after a six month courageous battle with cancer; and

WHEREAS, during Emiliana's treatments, her biggest pet peeve was "why doesn't anyone know about childhood cancer?" The mission of Emiliana's Hope is to honor her memory and continue Emiliana's vision and generosity toward others, improve the lives of pediatric cancer patients, give them hope, provide their families comfort and create much needed awareness and donate to childhood cancer research; and

Now, Therefore, I , Carmen F. Amato, Jr, Mayor of Berkeley Township on behalf of the Berkeley Township Council, herby proclaim the month of September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and September 17th as Emiliana Day in Berkeley Township, and further encourage all residents to "Wrap Our Town in Gold" and WEAR GOLD on September 17th, in honor of Emiliana and to recognize and affirm our commitment to fighting childhood cancer.

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