Elora girl's memory continues to inspire hope for cancer research

A large crowd gathered under a bright blue sky to remember a young Elora girl whose positive attitude and zest for life continue to inspire others.

Team Addy held their third annual Family Fun Day at Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus on Saturday in memory of Addison Hill, a young girl who battled a rare form of cancer called angiosarcoma.

“You can’t articulate into words the emotions that have filled the day,” mother Jessica Hill told CTV News while she stood in the midst of a temporary carnival and basketball tournament set up in her daughter’s honour. “The community support, the people that I see here, the amount of hugs that I’ve gotten, the amount of volunteers I needed – We say no one fights alone and I can’t do this alone. This is happening. This fundraising is happening because of my community.”

Addy’s smiling face looked out at the celebrations from a collection of murals as families played with inflatable games, took turns spraying a fire house, and reconnected on a beautiful July day.

Cheers erupted from the high school as over 100 teams competed in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Addy’s honour.

Addy would have turned 16-years-old earlier this week.

She died at the age of 14.

A picture of Addison 'Addy' Hill sits near registration booths during a Family Fun Day in her honour on July 13, 2024. (Shelby Knox/CTV News)

Although the pain of her loss is still fresh, her memory may help other people battling cancer.

All funds raised will go directly to sarcoma research in support of SickKids.

“Addy inspired a whole community to rally together,” Hill said. “To see this many people here is very moving. I’m so emotional just thinking about it. It’s incredible. The whole basketball tournament that we have is the largest in Ontario – 105 teams. The field is lit up, the inside is lit up, the barbeques. All the support is incredible, and it’s all because of Addy. I don’t take any credit for that.”

Addy left a lasting impression on her community and even helped to organize the first 3-on-3 basketball tournament and Family Fun Day in 2022, just days before her death.

She also left an indelible mark on her doctors and the staff at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

A large crystal ball stood near the entrance to the event on Saturday with a placard reading in part, “For Addy whose crystal ball inspired it all.”

“Addy asked her oncologist on the first day that she met him if she was going to die and he didn’t have a crystal ball to predict the future. So she wanted to get him one. And that story kind of ran through the halls of SickKids and it inspired them to put a life sized crystal ball on the front lawn of SickKids.”

A giant crystal ball sits in front of a Team Addy banner during a Family Fun Day on July 13, 2024. (Shelby Knox/CTV News)

Her question inspired a new model of care at the hospital, called Precision Child Health.

Now, Team Addy, a group of friends, family members and community supporters, continue to raise thousands of dollars to help support ongoing research.

“If you ask her oncologist Dr. Malkin it’s a huge impact. The money that goes into sarcoma research he has to take from grants. And I know with the money we’re giving him from Team Addy, he can take risks. You need to take risks. You need to take risks in order for a breakthrough to happen. That’s our hope, that he’ll be able to have a breakthrough and we’ll make some type of impact one day.”

Team Addy has set a goal of $500,000 to help continue the fight against sarcoma. According to the organization’s website, they had raised almost $367,000 by Saturday afternoon.

Donations can be made online.