Beloved Monroe student who died sparks classmates’ anti-cancer fundraiser

The legacy of a seventh-grade Monroe student, who died from cancer a half-decade ago, lives on thanks to a group of her now high school classmates’ fundraising.

Madison Smallwood was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, in 2015 and lost her battle to it in 2019 but not before sparking an outpouring of love and donations that live on today thanks to a recent, student-run campaign in her name.

The Monroe High School seniors have recently sold more than sold 1,132 shirts and raised more than $12,000 in donations for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Madison J. Smallwood Foundation.

Local companies and organizations - Girdwood Orthodontics, All About You Hardwood Floor Company and the Monroe Athletic Boosters - helped subsidize the cost of the t-shirts, said Monroe school officials.

Monroe High School Principal Tom Prohaska said “I am so incredibly proud of our seniors for coming up with this idea to honor Madison’s memory in such a special way.”

“Her classmates have led this effort from the very beginning and to see them more than triple their fundraising goal shows just how significantly her life continues to impact everyone here,” said Prohaska.

Adam Marcum, spokesman for Monroe Schools, said the fundraising was led by five seniors from what would have been Smallwood’s graduating class.

“After speaking with Madison’s mom, Lori, about their idea, Drew Heagen, Christian LeMieux, Kayden Merritt, Aubrey Sellman and Olivia Weiseman set a goal, now exceeded, of raising $4,000 for pediatric cancer research,” said Marcum.

They sold specially designed t-shirts featuring Madison’s name and a winged gold ribbon and students, staff and members of the community will be encouraged to wear to Monroe’s homecoming football game on Sept. 20.

The game aligns with National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and the theme that night is “Gold Out” - the color that officially represents childhood cancer.

Two local businesses have contributed $2,000 to cover the cost of the shirts allowing the majority of proceeds to be donated to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Madison J. Smallwood Foundation, which plans to offer its very first scholarship to Madison’s graduating class of 2025, said Marcum.

Madison’s cancer journey began on July 16, 2015 when she was diagnosed with stage four osteosarcoma at just eight years old. She underwent more than 30 rounds of chemotherapy, more than 30 rounds of radiation, numerous surgeries, and countless hospital visits.

Marcum said, throughout it all, Madison remained the most determined, courageous, strong, and inspiring girl you could ever meet.

Words that she lived by were “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

Monroe senior Olivia Weiseman said “she was such an amazing presence in everyone’s lives.”

“Her smile was truly contagious and she would light up any room she was in. I know that everyone who knew Madison will remember her forever for the way she was able to impact our lives in such a positive way.”

Source: Michael Clark, Journal News