Pediatric cancer center receives $110,000 from annual run and Wal Mart contribution

SYRACUSE, N.Y— Pediatric patients at University Hospital enjoyed cupcakes at a party to celebrate the success of Paige's Butterfly Run, an annual fundraiser to benefit children who receive medical care at the hospital's Dr. William J. Waters Center for Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders.

More than $600,000 has been raised for the Center for Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders since the run was established in 1996. Paige's parents, Chris and Ellen Arnold, presented a check for $110,000, which raised at this year's event held June 7 at the Federal Building Plaza in downtown Syracuse. Part of the money included a $47,000 contribution from Wal Mart. Proceeds are used to help fund research into pediatric cancers, provide for children's programs and meet special needs of families whose children are treated at the center.

The center is a referral center serving a 20-county area in Central New York from the Canadian border to northern Pennsylvania. The center provides consultative services, diagnostic testing, and treatment for children with various malignancies and hematologic abnormalities. The latter include anemia, neutropenia, hemophilia and sickle cell disease. Nearly 700 children are treated at the center with 50 to 60 new cancer patients evaluated and treated annually.