KENT COUNTY, Mich — Sharyn Capobianco, the founder of Milan's Miracle Fund, was named the FOX 17 and Lake Michigan Credit Union Person of the Year during the annual FOX 17 Pay it Forward Award Gala special Thursday.
Capobianco started the nonprofit in honor of her daughter Milan, who passed away in 2009 at just 8 years old from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
Milan's Miracle Fund has raised more than $700,000 for critical research, with the hope of one day finding a cure for DIPG.
In 2021, the nonprofit celebrated a big breakthrough when the FDA approved clinical trials on the anniversary of Milan's death.
"I believe in my lifetime and very soon that we will have our first child cured from DIPG. And [families] need that opportunity to be able to see the light. And the families need that, to have not only a tremendous amount of help, but also know what the outcome is going to be, and not the outcome that they've been told in the past," Capobianco told FOX 17 News. "We're doing this for them and Milan. We're never giving up."
Capobianco's story was featured in June 2021.
As the FOX 17 and Lake Michigan Pay it Forward Person of the Year, Capobianco is receiving a $5,000 prize.
To learn more about Milan's Miracle Fund, or to donate, click here.
If you would like to nominate someone to be featured as a Pay it Forward Person of the Month in 2022, clickhere.
SEE MORE: FOX 17 Pay It Forward Awards