NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Kathy and Joe Arabia run the AYJ Fund out of their North Adams home to help children diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Their mission has grown in recent years to help kids going through treatment for all types of cancers.

They say it all started after losing their daughter to a rare form of the disease.

“The AYJ Fund stands for Anna Yan Ji - that was our daughter’s name, we adopted her from China," Kathy Arabia said. "We started the AYJ Fund after we lost our daughter to Gliomatosis Cerebri, which is a very rare brain cancer.”

Anna received treatment for three and a half years. She passed away on Valentine's Day of 2013 at the age of 16. Kathy said at the time, there was no research being done on the rare diagnosis, and now they work to help children around the world.

“There were no effective treatments for any of these children and we’re working until we can find a way to help these kids,” Kathy said.

The Arabias began to make connections with families from different states and countries impacted by Gliomatosis Cerebri. Their work started by learning through tutorials at Dana Farber Institute and, with the help of Dr. Mark Kieran and others, their meetings evolved into international seminars where research is discussed.

The need for funding is great, so AYJ and other organizations are taking on the challenge.

“We said we’ll do it, we’ll get the funding," Joe Arabia said. "And long story short, now we’re in two years of our three-year international Gliomatosis research project. It’s just amazing that two people from North Adams, you know, this place tucked away in the Berkshire hills, could put together such an enormous organization and work internationally with the best doctors in the world on pediatric cancer, brain cancer. It’s just amazing.”

In addition to research efforts, the AYJ Fund has programs to keep kids connected with their friends while they go through treatment as well as finding ways to make them smile.

“We have three programs – Smiles, Connections and Cures," Kathy said. "So, Smiles is helping children that are fighting cancer now. Our Connections programs keep them connected especially through the teenage years to their friends and family and school through technology. And a very important part of the program of the foundation is the work we do to raise awareness and to help fund research to find effective cures for these children.”

The Arabias said the work of the AYJ Fund has become a 24/7 job, but honoring Anna is what keeps them going.

“Really everything we do is, you know, we can feel her strength within us,” Kathy said. "And we see it in the strength of all of the children that are fighting every day.”

The AYJ Fund can be found on Facebook and through their website.