Golf tournament, craft fair, auction planned as Anna’s Sunflower Warriors continue Ilion girl’s legacy
By Donna Thompson
Anna LaBella, of Ilion, died in 2022 at the age of 12, but her work to help and encourage other children battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses lives on through the foundation she started.
Anna’s Sunflower Warriors is offering people a chance to support the foundation’s work by taking part in a golf tournament set for 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Maple Crest Golf Course on Cedarville Road, Frankfort. A craft fair and a Chinese auction are planned as part of the event, according to Amanda Nichols of Anna’s Sunflower Warriors.
Links to sign up are available on the group’s website, annassunflowerwarriors.com or on the group’s Facebook page.
Photo provided by Anna’s Sunflower Warriors
Arianna LaBella, known as Anna, was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma in 2019. This is a rare type of cancer that occurs in the bones or soft tissue around the bones. She underwent treatment and was declared cancer-free in July 2020, but in February of the following year, doctors said the cancer was back.
Anna died on August 2, 2022.
During the time she was receiving treatments at The Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Albany Medical Center, Anna found ways to focus on those around her – especially the other children who were patients at the facility. She began bringing them craft projects they could work on to pass the time and brought snacks for the doctors and nurses who were taking care of her, according to the foundation’s website. She then began bringing snacks for the other children being treated at the center and later began collecting gingerbread houses and giving them to children who were inpatients during the holidays.
Anna especially wanted the snack cart she started to continue being available and stocked after she was gone and she started a foundation, Nichols said. Her parents, Rob and Jessie LaBella, and other family members have made it their mission to see that the work Anna started continues. In addition to keeping the snack cart stocked, the foundation supports the Ronald McDonald House that assisted the family during Anna’s illness, and members keep in touch with Albany Medical Center, both to refill the snack cart and to assist families whose children are receiving treatments there.
“We provide what support we can,” said Nichols.
Gas cards to help with transportation costs are one way the foundation has helped, she said. A Wal-Mart gift card can help with basic necessities for family members who unexpectedly find themselves having to stay in Albany to be near their child.
Photo provided by Anna’s Sunflower Warriors
Giving back to the community was important to Anna, she said, and the majority of funds raised stay in the local community, whether to assist a local family with a child battling a life-threatening disease or to help with a community project. This spring, Anna’s Sunflower Warriors provided new benches for the soccer fields at Russell Park and Hunts Field.
Another way the foundation has helped is through a present drive for middle and high school students in the Central Valley school district.
“We gave more than 600 gifts to teens in need,” said Nichols, adding that after the age of 12, children age out of most holiday gift-giving programs. “We wanted to make sure they had a great Christmas.” The foundation worked with Connected Community Schools to determine the needs.
Fundraising events such as annual motorcycle benefit ride, auction, raffles and other events, as well as donations support the work of the foundation.
“The more people support the fundraisers, the more we can do,” said Nichols.
And it’s all in memory of a young girl who showed both courage and compassion while dealing with a rare and deadly illness.
“Going through what she did and fighting through with a smile – and the community embraced her,” Nichols recalled. The foundation gets a lot of support from volunteers who give of their time or resources or donations, she said.
“We’re continuing her mission and keeping her legacy alive.”
Last year, the softball field at South Fifth Field in Ilion was renamed the Arianna “Anna” LaBella Memorial Field.