Legacy Society – Chris Arnold
Annual Donor, Major Donor, Legacy Donor
01/2022 Chris Arnold has experienced a parent’s worst nightmare: the loss of a child. And yet, nearly three decades later, his daughter’s legacy lives on in the Central New York community, owing to Chris’ dedication each year to planning and implementing Paige’s Butterfly Run with the assistance of the Upstate Foundation.
“The Upstate Foundation has been a great partner to help us promote our mission,” Chris said. “I’m sure we would not be as successful as we are today if it weren’t for the assistance of the Foundation.”
That mission is supporting children and their families at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital as they go through their unwanted pediatric cancer journeys, and perhaps even preventing future families from going on that journey by supporting local pediatric cancer research. It’s a journey Chris and his then-wife Ellen Yeomans took when Paige was diagnosed with leukemia and succumbed at age 8 in 1994.
Paige’s Butterfly Run has raised over $4 million since its inception in 1997. Proceeds have funded unmet patient and family needs, nursing education, and other pediatric cancer related programs and services, and research. Most recently, event proceeds helped establish the Paige Yeomans Arnold Endowed Professor in Pediatric Oncology at the Upstate Foundation. The endowment will live in perpetuity at Upstate. With an eye to the future, Chris has also created a legacy gift at the Foundation.
“The reason I am making gifts in memory of my daughter – annually through Paige’s Butterfly Run and now personally, through an estate gift – is to help kids and families who are in the same position we were. It breaks my heart when I think of young children and their families who are so deeply affected by this disease, cancer, and knowing that, unfortunately, too many of them won’t make it. And, of those who do, many will face lifelong deficits created by the treatments that defeated their cancer. Being able to help them through this process and through this difficult time in their lives means a lot to me. It’s gratifying to me,” Chris explained.
“Having worked with the Upstate Foundation for more than 25 years made the transition from annual giving to legacy giving easy for me,” he added. “The Foundation is a trusted member of the community, a very large part of our philanthropic community in Central New York. They make the process easy for you, and you can be comfortable with how your gift – your legacy – will be handled in the future.”
Chris is also encouraging those closest to him to think about the future too. “There’s no time like the present. I say, ‘Get it done and it’ll be there when the time comes.’ It’s so simple.”
For more information about ways to create your own personal Legacy, contact your financial advisor or call the Upstate Foundation, 315-464-4416.