Town Of Smithtown To Light Tree For Pediatric Cancer Awareness

SMITHTOWN, NY — The Town of Smithtown is set to host a tree lighting to raise awareness for childhood cancer on Thursday, as September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the town announced.

Officials from the state, county and town will be joined by the Thomas Scully Foundation, Smithtown Children's Foundation, Smithtown Central School District, and local families at Smithtown Town Hall at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The tree is decorated with gold ribbons, each one customized with the names of local children who are actively fighting cancer, in remission or watching over us as angels.

Each year, the Town of Smithtown raises awareness for childhood cancers in September through various activities and events. The Daniela Conte Foundation provided customized gold tree lights and ribbons. This is in addition to large awareness ribbons in front of the Parks Department, the Highway Department, Smithtown Town Hall, and at the bull monument, courtesy of the Thomas Scully Foundation.

Local mom and advocate Amy Beach will be announcing the school district's annual participation of "Lace up for Kids" day. Gold Ribbon charms will be distributed by the town after the ceremony and given to the school districts who are hosting a "Lace up for Kids" day in late September. The charms can be worn on bracelets, or to decorate shoelaces.

"These annual efforts are intended to help fund and raise awareness, identify breakthroughs and fill gaps in the treatment landscape, and direct research to the areas with the greatest need," the town wrote.

The Daniela Conte Foundation was founded in memory of Daniela Marie Conte, an 8-year-old who was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. She died in March 2020 after battling the disease for years. Her parents, Anthony and Katia Conte, created the not-for-profit to remember their daughter and provide financial assistance to families of pediatric cancer patients and fund Rhabdomyosarcoma research to help find a cure.

The Thomas Scully Foundation was founded in 2017 to honor the life of Thomas Scully. Its mission is to bring "A Little Bit of Happiness" to children with cancer today, while supporting a cure for tomorrow. The Thomas Scully Foundation is fulfilling this mission with "A Little Bit of Happiness" care packages that bring comfort and joy to the children stuck in local New York hospitals. The foundation supports a cure by providing "A Little Bit of Hope'' grants to families seeking innovative treatment for their child. These grants help families who are New York residents for the time being, although the foundation hopes to expand this in the future.

Related stories of local cancer nonprofits doing good work:

• 'So Brave': Boy Facing Terminal Cancer's Wish Granted By Olivia Hope Foundation (Syosset)
• Handler Hope Foundation Donates $25K For Breast Cancer; Raises $7.9K More (Northport/Huntington)
• The Chloe Belle Foundation Raises $3K In Fight Against Cancer (Northport)
• 'Go Gold' For Childhood Cancer: Sarah Grace Foundation Seeks Awareness (Hicksville)