Annual pediatric cancer fundraiser aims to improve kids’ quality of life during hospital stays

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After losing his 14-year-old daughter to leukemia in 2018, Rich Massi of Pottstown started the Fight On Makenna Foundation .

“Our mission is pretty simple,” Massi said. “We decided to really focus on improving the quality of life for the kids and the families that are going through pediatric cancer.”

He said his daughter, Makenna, who had a smile that could light up a room, spent 150 nights at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia undergoing grueling treatment. And for a girl who was a foodie and loved sports, she had difficulty eating food she could tolerate and little access to exercise equipment during her stay.

Her experience inspired them to provide more nutritious meal options and accessible exercise equipment to kids fighting cancer at CHOP. To help front those costs, they host an annual fundraising event, Bite For The Fight .

This year, it’s on Sept. 14 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

“We have four celebrity chefs that are going to be attending, three of which are going to be doing culinary demos,” Massi said. “We also, because she wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian one day, have recruited the Pennsylvania SPCA to come to the event, and we will be helping them place dogs into homes.”