The Upstate Foundation has received a $230,000 donation from Paige’s Butterfly Run (PBR) to support a range of services for children with cancer receiving care at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. The funds benefit pediatric cancer research as well as financial support to families to cover everything from food and gas expenses to medical costs and other services.

The organization raised money through a variety of events throughout the year.

Paige's Butterfly Run made the announcement at a presentation outside of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital Dec. 28.

The donation includes $34,000 worth of books and school supplies that were purchased by patrons at Barnes & Noble and Staples and then donated to Upstate through PBR for distribution to patients.

Since 1997, Paige’s Butterfly Run has raised more than $4.5 million dollars in support of pediatric cancer care at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital and the Waters Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Upstate.

The organization honors Baldwinsville elementary school student Paige Arnold, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1993 when she was 6; Paige died a year later from complications from a bone marrow transplant in an effort to cure her leukemia, at Boston Children's Hospital.

“2022 was a ‘comeback year’ of sorts for everyone, as we moved towards normalcy despite the shadow of COVID,” said Paige’s father, Chris Arnold. “But what hadn’t changed in the past several years was that kids still got diagnosed with cancer.

“We at Paige’s Butterfly Run are incredibly happy to be back with a large donation in 2022 to serve the needs of our pediatric cancer patients and families in Central New York. Many thanks to our participants, donors, sponsors and partners at the Upstate Foundation for making this possible!” Arnold concluded.

Gregory Conners, MD, MPH, MBA, chair of Pediatrics and executive director of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, offered his thanks for the support. “There is always great anticipation for this end-of-the-year announcement from Paige’s Butterfly Run,” Conners said. “We are grateful this organization is in our community and thank all who have contributed to support our patients and their families.”

Melanie Comito, MD, the Paige Yeomans Arnold Endowed Professor in Pediatric Oncology and division chief of the Waters Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Upstate, applauded the donation. “Paige’s Butterfly Run touches every aspect of our cancer-fighting mission, from research to treatment to supporting our families,” Comito said. “Thank you all for this marvelous donation to our mission.”

Toni Gary, assistant vice president of the Upstate Foundation, echoed the gratitude. “Chris Arnold and the entire team at Paige’s Butterfly Run have been steadfast supporters of our pediatric cancer patients and their caregivers for more than two decades,” she said. “Their support means the world to all who are facing this disease.”

Last year, in addition to PBR’s annual gift, with the help of the Upstate Foundation, the organization supported a $1.5 million endowed professorship at Upstate, held by Comito, as well as a legacy gift from Chris Arnold in support of future needs of the Waters Center.

Caption: Participating in the check presentation by Paige's Butterfly Run are, from left, Toni Gary, Dr Melanie Comito, Dr Gregory Conners and PBR founder Chris Arnold.