HOLYOKE — Madeline “Maddie” Schmidt lost her 10-month battle against brain cancer three years ago, but her legacy lives on and can be supported through the fourth annual Magic for Maddie 5k, family-fun walk and carnival.
The event hosted by the nonprofit Magic for Maddie will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18, starting at 1 p.m. with check-ins at 11 a.m. The organization’s biggest fundraiser for the year will be at the Holyoke Elks located at 250 Whitney Ave. and runners and walkers will make their way around the Ashley Reservoir. Registration is now open for people to pay and participate.
“We’re really excited about it because it’s all of Maddie’s favorite things that she loved and she got to be a part of it the first year,” said Maddie’s mother and Southampton resident, Nora Schmidt.
Throughout the day, families can relish in the carnival activities inspired by Maddie’s favorites, including pony rides, a petting zoo, bounce house, obstacle course, sweet treats and more games. Magic will be in the air, with families being able to watch a magic show and listen to live music from the Southern Rain band.
In 2022, Maddie was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. Schmidt and her family were told Maddie could go through six weeks of radiation, but they should go home and make memories with the time they had left.
The 5k was first held that year to raise money for Maddie’s treatment and to support the Schmidt family. Later that year on New Year’s Eve, she passed away. Schmidt founded Magic for Maddie in her name, to help children in the same fight Maddie was in, fueling research for DIPG.
“Most families are told the same things — go home and make memories …,” Schmidt said about Maddie’s diagnosis. “That’s devastating and that’s one of the reasons why we founded Magic for Maddie — we have to do better for these kids.”
During her battle, Maddie was on trial for the treatment ONC-201 (Modeyso). In August this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved of the medicine as the first approved treatment for DIPG.
“It’s amazing what is happening in the DIPG community and for the first time this August they approved ONC-201,” said Laura Perillo, media director for Magic for Maddie. “It’s not the cure, but it is known to prolong life in some patients and it’s working … It gives this whole new vast array of hope for patients and families.”
Schmidt said this opens vast possibilities for treatment plans, with research seeking to pair Modeyso with other medicines that could be the cure.
Magic for Maddie has a goal to raise more than $1 million. Since its inception, organization has raised more than $850,000 and they hope the carnival along with personal donations will help burst the million dollar mark. In 2024, Magic for Maddie funded more than $160,000 in research and donated approximately $18,000 to local nonprofits that align with their mission. Schmidt was honored at the State House earlier this year for her work.
Schmidt says the progress that they have achieved could not be done without support from the community.
“We want to be able to support others but we can’t do it alone and putting ourselves out there and continuing these events means everything to our family,” said Schmidt, who is originally from Holyoke. “It helps get us through the worst, darkest times and the community has showed up every year.”
One community member who shows up to support Schmidt is John Griffin, 67, who will be running the 5K backwards this year. It’s the same thing he did 27 years ago when he ran the Holyoke Turkey Trot backward to honor and raise money for Schmidt, who was diagnosed and beat cancer back then, and other family friend, Kerr Monroe.
“I was going to do it forward, but a friend of mine said they would give me $200 if I did it backwards,” Griffin said about the Turkey Trot in 1998.
Griffin lost touch with the Schmidt family after moving to Southwick. When he heard about Maddie’s battle, he was devastated and wanted to revive the backward run for this year, to show how much the family means to him.
“Just because we don’t get to see each other a lot doesn’t mean they’re not on my mind or in my heart,” Griffin said. “That’s why you do some of these things, to remind people they mean a lot to you even when life gets in the way.”
Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer deaths for children and adolescents under the age of 19, and DIPG is the most lethal form of pediatric brain cancer, with most patients being diagnosed before the age of 7. Ninety percent of children diagnosed with DIPG die within two years of diagnosis, according to Magic for Maddie.
To donate, find more information and register for the event, visit the Magic For Maddie website.
