RIWBL Partners with the Glimmer of Hope Foundation
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NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. (R.I.W.B.L.) — The Glimmer of Hope Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization showing girls and boys their strength and beauty through the donation of bald dolls and providing HOPE to families battling childhood cancer.
The story of Glimmer of Hope wouldn’t exist without the story of a beautiful, radiant girl, Ella Integlia. When Ella was diagnosed, she wrote a letter to American Girl to ask if there could be a bald doll. Ella Catherine Integlia made the sun shine brighter when she came into the world. She was an avid reader, often lost in the world of Harry Potter or any book of her choosing. Surrounded with many loving, loyal friends she was a social butterfly. Ella was caring and sensitive, hysterically crying at sad movies. She loved animals and babies, and fell in love with her first job as a mother’s helper and her honorary “big sister” role to her twin cousins. Upon her diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of 11, Ella wrote a letter to American Girl asking them to create a bald doll, so that girls like her could feel confident, strong and courageous. Ella lived by the motto “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” And dance in the rain she did. Ella courageously battled leukemia for two and a half years, finishing treatment on June 26th, 2018. She lived life fearlessly, visiting Ireland, spending time with friends, improving her makeup skills, and basking in the sun at Narragansett Beach. In April of 2019, Ella relapsed. She spent the next four months fighting, awaiting a bone marrow transplant. Due to complications, Ella passed away on August 24th 2019, at the age of 14. She is forever loved, forever missed and forever shines bright. Ella wanted girls to feel confident in their battle and in losing their hair. When she got her bald doll she named the doll “Hope.” We are honored to carry on her legacy and her dream of every child battling cancer being gifted the bald doll through Glimmer of Hope Foundation. About the Founder Alison Hornung, a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, with degrees in Global Business Management, German, and Human Development and Family Sciences, has been a passionate childhood cancer advocate since the age of 12. Ali has advocated multiple times to Congress members in D.C. and virtually for more funding for pediatric cancer in honor of Ella and all of the other fighters, survivors and angels. Ali has raised over $350,000 for various organizations including LLS, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, The Izzy Foundation, Talia’s Legacy, The Tomorrow Fund and more. She is the founder of Miracle Masks, a small business where she has created over 2,500 face masks and donated all of the proceeds to childhood cancer foundations. |
Strength and Beauty come from within.
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