Angel wings: Young Ariel to be remembered at the Butterfly Ball in Ross

Ariel Silvaggio loved animals, including bugs, spiders and worms.

When her mom would pick her up from daycare, she would see the little girl playing in the dirt. Teachers would often send her mother pictures of Ariel digging to see what living things she could find outside.

“She would come home filthy and with worms in her pockets,” said her mother Sonya Silvaggio, of McCandless. “And if there was spider in the house, and Ariel was around she would say, ‘Don’t kill it.’ I would have to take the spider outside.”

At a young age, little Ariel cared about life, all life. Time on this earth was precious to her. Her zest for life will be celebrated at the second annual Butterfly Ball from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 16 at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center in Ross.

Ariel was diagnosed with childhood leukemia in 2017 when she was 5.

She died on Jan. 8, 2020.

She was 7.

The ball is hosted by the Silvaggio family in partnership with Fianna Foundation, based in Wisconsin, which works to raise awareness about childhood cancer and fund research to advance improved treatments for childhood cancer.

The cost to attend is $175 per person. Every dollar raised will go to Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital Foundation Pediatric Cancer Research.

Last year’s Butterfly Ball raised $11,000. September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

“This ball is my way of dealing with this,” said Sonya Silvaggio, of McCandless. “I want to do something to help. We want to raise awareness. There is not enough funding. Kids are dying.”

According to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation for childhood cancer, more than 17,000 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year. Thanks to advances in treatments, approximately 84% of children diagnosed with cancer will survive to five years after diagnosis. However, childhood cancer still remains the number one cause of death by disease for children in the U.S.

Even in children who are considered cured, 95% of these children will experience a significant side effects related to chemotherapy by age 45.

The first Butterfly Ball was held at a neighbor’s home. The plan is to make it bigger this year. There will be a band and an auction, including an autographed Taylor Swift guitar and a weekend stay at a Seven Springs Mountain Resort cottage, donated by friends.

Guests will enjoy a dinner prepared by award-winning Pittsburgh chef Paul O’Toole, retired executive chef of the Pittsburgh Field Club. On the menu is a signature cocktail and a filet, rack of lamb and crab cakes.

“My daughter Ariel’s spirit lives on because of this event, and the funds raised this year are contributions towards funding pediatric cancer research,” said Sonya Silvaggio, who also hosts a fundraiser at CrossFit A.I.M. in Hampton on Ariel’s birthday, May 11. They’ve raised $36,000.

Sonya Silvaggio said having the support of Dr. Meghan McCormick, an expert in the field of pediatric cancer research, as part of the event means so much. McCormick, assistant professor of pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, said it is so hard seeing children in the hospital who should be in school and having fun with their friends and families. She was one of Ariel’s oncologists.

No parent should have to experience the loss of a child, McCormick said.

McCormick said the National Cancer Institute has more than doubled its investment in childhood cancer research during the past 10 years, but pediatric cancer research still receives less than 9% of those total funds.

Pharmaceutical companies, which provide 60% of all funding for drug development in adult cancer, provide almost no funding to pediatric cancer drug development. Much of the gap in funding for pediatric cancer research is filled in by private organizations, which is where events like the Butterfly Ball can help to generate funds to help support pediatric cancer researchers within Pittsburgh.

“They want to keep Ariel’s memory alive, and it is amazing what this family has done raising funds for cancer research,” McCormick said. “I remember Ariel’s face and her personality and love of life. Ariel was really a special kid with lots of spirit and a loving personality.”

The evening will honor the memory of Ariel, a student at Glen Montessori in Ross, who never gave up through multiple treatments and hospital stays and therapies. She received chemotherapy, blood transfusions and a bone marrow transplant.

As part of a program called Beads of Courage, Ariel was given beads, which represent a child’s journey.

The beads are a reminder of a child’s strength and courage, said Beth Moneck, certified child life specialist and assistant executive director of Beads of Courage, Inc., based in Arizona.

“The beads are part of their legacy,” Moneck said.

Beads of Courage programs currently support more than 300 participating member hospitals in the U.S., Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Sonya Silvaggio said she has hundreds of beads – too many to count. She plans to display the beads at the Butterfly Ball.

“When Ariel died I received a glass butterfly as the last bead,” said Sonya Silvaggio. “Honestly, the butterfly bead represents my worst nightmare. You hear about it when you’re going through it but you never think it’s going to happen to you. It’s a beautiful bead, but I wish I didn’t have to have it.”

The Butterfly Ball has become a way to honor Ariel’s spirit, love for butterflies and to continue the fight against childhood leukemia, Sonya Silvaggio said.

Young Ariel loved to catch butterflies.

For more information, to purchase tickets, to make a donation to pediatric cancer research or the silent auction contact Sonya Silvaggio at sonya.berkovich@gmail.com.