Lisa Smith was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in 2011. She had four daughters, including Mia, her second oldest, who was in the first grade at the time.
“It was very emotional to be diagnosed with breast cancer, especially with four girls,” Lisa said. “Out of all of my daughters, [Mia] just seemed to always look at me speaking about it and ask questions about breast cancer.”
Mia wanted to do something for her mom as a surprise. Shortly after Lisa beat cancer, Mia went to her Northside Elementary School Principal Michael Febbraro and asked if they could start a campaign to raise money for breast cancer research.
“I told him a little about my mom and how she had breast cancer,” Mia, who is now in ninth grade, said. “I told him what I was going through at the time. I really wanted more people to be like a mom. We met up at lunch and we created ‘Pink Out Day,’ which has grown every year ever since and is celebrated districtwide.”
“I wanted to help her make this a reality,” Febbraro said. “I was so overwhelmed about it. I think its beautiful. Any child that has this way of thinking is an inspiration. She has inspired other kids and other schools with this. Its really touching.”
Mia started “Making Cents Out Of Breast Cancer,” which asked fellow students throughout the month of October to bring in any change they had to donate to breast cancer research.
The signature event, Pink Out Day, entails students and faculty coming to schools throughout the district dressed in pink. In order to give back to those who donated to the cause, Mia does raffles for people to win prizes so that those who donated can have some fun.
In the first year, some of the money raised was donated to the American Cancer Society and the rest was used to help Mia and her classmates make gift bags for patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Commack, where Lisa got her treatment.
“We made cards that said, ‘God is with you,’ ‘get well,’ ‘feel better’ and gave them bags with lotions and all the things that they needed,” Mia said.
Starting with the second year, all the money throughout the month goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
“We did some research and found them,” Lisa said. “They are an amazing organization. They rank number one in the country. We’re just so happy with all of the money going to them.”
Over the years of Mia’s campaign, she has brought in some star power. Family friend and famous singer Gloria Gaynor stopped by Northside in 2015 to give a speech about overcoming adversity.
“She talked about how she knew my mom and how she felt when she was going through it,” Mia said. “She sang her song ‘I Will Survive,’ which was her favorite song while going through her treatment. It really moved people and we had her come back the next year when I was a sixth grader at Howitt [Middle School].”
Gaynor was also a big contributor to the cause, matching the final total after the 2015 drive. In addition to Gaynor’s presence, Long Island singer Billy Joel and magician Michael Carbonaro have donated tickets to the campaign for the raffles. On top of that, after sending him letters, Mia Smith received a video from Ed Sheeran who said that, although he couldn’t attend the campaign, he wanted to express his support.
“I was like ‘Oh my god, he said my name,’” Mia said.
Most recently, Mia had former New York Islander Steve Webb come in to sign a jersey and hockey puck, the latter was also signed by current Islander Anthony Beauvillier, all of which was auctioned off as part of the raffles in October.
Since 2015, Making Cents has raised nearly $30,000 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This year alone, they raised $8,613.73 for the foundation. The check was presented to the charity right before Christmas.
“It’s insane how big this has gotten and I’m not going to stop until a find a cure,” said Mia. “Its a dangerous disease and I don’t want to have to worry about it when I’m older or have to go through another family member getting it.”
For those who wish to donate to the cause, visit give.bcrf.org/fundraiser/807069.
