With a chill in the air and rain falling, Halloween rolled in early this year for a 12-year-old boy battling pediatric sarcoma, thanks to a young lady’s heart of gold.

Samantha Ronci, founder of Sami’s Sendoff’s, a Rhode Island 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that sends care packages to children battling illnesses. She started the nonprofit in May of 2019, at only 15-years-old, when 6-year-old Emily Navarra of Virginia earned her angel wings after a battle with childhood cancer. Emily received the first care package that Sam ever sent, creating a lasting bond between her and the Navarra family. After her passing, the decision was made to honor her legacy, and Sami’s Sendoffs was born.

Since the creation of the nonprofit, Samantha has mailed more than 95 packages to states around the USA, including Hawaii! She takes time to personally deliver the packages to local families, leaving her trail of love everywhere she goes. The number of lives she has touched is immeasurable, including one special family’s this October.

“When I heard a Sami’s Sendoff’s kiddo was going to miss out on Halloween because of cancer treatment dates, my heart broke,” Sam explained, “Never mind Halloween being his favorite holiday. I wanted to do something big because that’s what I love. I love kicking cancer’s butt in big ways!”

Being quick to act, Sam organized a trunk-or-treat, reaching out to friends, family, classmates, and neighbors. Despite the rain, the community more than happily gathered at Hannaford Elementary School in East Greenwich on October 23rd, donning their costumes, playing classic Halloween music, and offering their best treats to one surprised warrior! Hannaford School was chosen because of its central location for family and friends.

“When he (Rusty, not his real name) got out of his car, he looked at me and was like, ‘what do I do?!’, he had no idea what was happening,” Sam said. But the candy wasn’t the only surprise that she had in store for him.

“He had been wanting a license plate for his wheelchair, so I also surprised him with that.”

Rusty, accompanied by his mother, made a tour of the more than six cars collecting his treats. Sam provided gifts as well as those answering the call to make it an exciting Halloween for Rusty.

While Sam was able to help Rusty enjoy this season’s holiday, she hopes to change things on a national level. In a recent letter to President Biden, Sam asked what was being done for childhood cancers.

“His response? Nothing. He has a plan for cancer in general, but nothing related to our children. Unfortunately, this is the same for every politician. Childhood cancer is just not on a political radar, and without it being on a political radar or gaining the awareness it needs, it will never gain the funding that is essential for these children. Every day, 43 children hear they have cancer.”

Sam explained that childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 19. She mentioned DIPG, a form of brain cancer that annually affects approximately 200 to 300 children, with no known cure for this rare disease.

“Unfortunately, like everything, without awareness comes no funding towards childhood cancer. And unfortunately, no one gives our kids the attention they need. We can’t get more funding for childhood cancer right now…We need it, but it’s not happening. No one in power is taking action. So, I will, and I’ll do it in a different way. And that’s what I did (tonight). I proved that cancer won’t stop this young man from having the time of his life. Cancer has no hold on anyone, on any child. And it never will.”

But Sam’s focus was on Rusty this Halloween. He was happy to not miss out on trick-or-treating, and he may even be surprised to be called “Rusty”, a character from one of his favorite video games, Roblox.