{"id":100965,"date":"2025-04-04T18:42:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T18:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=100965"},"modified":"2025-04-11T11:55:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T11:55:44","slug":"game-changers-hayley-friedman-morrison-grazia-usa-spring-2025","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-hayley-friedman-morrison-grazia-usa-spring-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Changers: Hayley Friedman Morrison + Eli Sunshine Fund"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Game Changers: Hayley Friedman Morrison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Hayley Friedman Morrison, the question Tell me about your son is not a painful one. In fact, it\u2019s her favorite. \u201cIt never makes me sad to talk about him,\u201d she says. \u201cMost people love talking about their child, and for me, it connects me to who he is. I consider him here with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Eli, who passed away at just 9 years old after a battle with Ewing sarcoma, was extraordinary. \u201cHe would have turned ten last February,\u201d Morrison says. \u201cHe was the happiest child\u2014funny, witty, full of energy, and constantly on the move. Even at nursery school, they nicknamed him \u2018the mayor.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Eli\u2019s diagnosis introduced Morrison to the harsh realities of pediatric cancer. \u201cThe funding for pediatric cancer is abysmal,\u201d she explains. \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a new drug for pediatric cancers in over 40 years. Families go bankrupt trying to keep their kids alive. It\u2019s an archaic system, and I want to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout treatment, Eli\u2019s compassion was unmatched. \u201cAt Memorial Sloan Kettering [MSK], he was very aware of other kids and families who didn\u2019t have the same support. He would ask me to bring chocolates or stuffed animals for other patients.<\/p>\n

Though his life was short, Eli packed a lifetime of love into his years. He loved basketball, chess, drawing, painting, and cooking with his older brother, Harry. \u201cAn Eli hug was all in\u2014he enveloped you with his whole heart,\u201d Morrison recalls.<\/p>\n

Driven by Eli\u2019s spirit, Morrison founded the Eli Sunshine Fund<\/a>, raising over $1 million to fund clinical trials and research for Ewing sarcoma and oth- er pediatric cancers. The fund also brings moments of joy to children in treatment. \u201cEli spent three birthdays at MSK, and now we throw birthday parties for kids there,\u201d Morrison says.<\/p>\n

Morrison\u2019s work is deeply personal, a continuation of the kindness and generosity Eli embodied. \u201cI always say, if he were here, we\u2019d be doing this together,\u201d she reflects. \u201cHe had such a good heart, and it\u2019s a loss for the world that he isn\u2019t here to share it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is now focused on expanding the Eli Sunshine Fund through partnerships and collaborations. \u201cI am very fortunate to have close relationships in the worlds of fashion and media from growing up in NYC and from my previous career in journalism, and we are talking to some cool brands to partner with in the future to take ESF to the next level. The fashion world has always been so inclusive and welcoming in shining a spotlight on important causes, and childhood cancer is one that needs and deserves to be amplified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrison hopes to launch a campaign with designers and retailers for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, a time signified by the color gold. \u201cWe want to make the gold ribbon instantly recognizable as a symbol of hope for childhood cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

To continue fundraising, Morrison is planning the second annual benefit this fall, a cocktail event to expand outreach and welcome corporate sponsors. Additionally, several brands have offered to donate a portion of their proceeds to the foundation.<\/p>\n

Transitioning the Eli Sunshine Fund into a formal foundation, Morrison is determined to “get for awareness and change. \u201cI don\u2019t want other parents to hear the words, \u2018There\u2019s nothing more we can do.\u2019 In an ideal world, we\u2019d be able to tell these kids that they\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrison laments that \u201cat the end of the day, these diseases will not be cured by big pharmaceutical companies. It\u2019s people like me, people who loved someone like Eli, who have to keep screaming until someone listens.<\/p>\n

Read GRAZIA USA\u2019<\/em>s Spring Issue<\/a> featuring cover star Paris Hilton<\/a>:<\/strong><\/h4>\n