Our First Decade

In February 2013, Carley was admitted to North York General Hospital with difficulty breathing. As a result, she was given an emergency tracheostomy to restore her airway (which was limited to a mere 2 millimetres). That’s when the doctors found a golf ball sized tumor that literally crushed her trachea. The pathology on the tumor revealed that it was a extremely rare (1 in 3.5 billion) clear-cell sarcoma of the trachea, the second such case ever recorded in the history of modern medicine.

After 10 days in the hospital and being diagnosed with a potentially deadly, rare and virtually unknown cancer, Carley returned home and put herself way out in the universe by posting herself on Youtube singing a One Direction song, with trache-tube and all. Carley’s video was spotted by Selena Gomez who tweeted out encouragement to Carley and her 15 million followers. From that moment on, Carley became a spokesperson for people facing adversity. As the news agencies picked up her story, people from around the world reached out to Carley with encouragement and praise for giving them the hope, courage and determination they needed to fight their adversity.

Through her music, Carley created awareness about sarcomas and raised thousands of dollars for research & treatment. Events started popping up on campuses across the country and donations for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and the Sick Kids Hospital poured in from across the globe.

In July 2013 Carley underwent a complex surgery to remove a two inch tract of her trachea and the underlying tumour. The surgery was performed by world renowned head and neck surgeon Patrick Gullane (Order of Canada). It was unknown whether Carley would ever be able to speak, let alone sing again. The surgery went very well and it wasn’t long before Carley was talking, singing and even figure skating again. Testing showed that Carley was cancer-free and she began attending classes at Queen’s University. Regretfully, the doctors found that the cancer had spread to Carley’s lungs. Carley redoubled her efforts to fight this very aggressive cancer, never letting it dictate what she could or could not do.

In that spirit, on November 1st 2014, Carley was honored to sing the national anthem at the Air Canada Centre for the NHL’s “Hockey Fights Cancer” game with the Toronto Maple Leafs facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks. Prior to her singing, public address announcer Andy Frost mentioned that Carley had just “fought an extremely rare throat cancer and is now fighting double lung cancer, but that has not stopped her from performing for us tonight”. That statement truly typifies Carley; she faced her adversity head-on and never let it get in her way or slow her down.

Carley passed away March 31, 2015, leaving a legacy of inspiration in her footsteps. Carley brought out the best in us… From her friends who rallied around her, the medical practitioners who went to extraordinary lengths to treat her, and her loving family that never stopped trying to find a way to save their beloved daughter from the scourge of cancer.

Carley was always upbeat, caring, and concerned for the well-being of others. Carley was a beautiful person from her kind, sensitive & gracious soul to her outward beauty which made her stand out as a singer-songwriter and competitive figure skater. She will be remembered for her gentle kindness, her passion & love, her great gifts, skills & talents and her indomitable human spirit, poise & determination, not only throughout this whole ordeal, but throughout her whole life.

We made a promise to Carley, that we would never let her story become a tragedy. And we’ve kept that promise every day for the last 10 years.

Carley’s Angels was founded by Carley’s Parents Mark & May Allison, Carley’s Sisters, Riley & Samantha Allison and Carley’s Boyfriend, John Servinis, in honour of the girl they all loved, Carley Elle Allison.

Due to the rareness of Carley’s disease, traditional medicine alone was not enough. Instead, Carley’s family, with the help of Toronto’s outstanding medical community, committed themselves to search for a combination of traditional and holistic treatments for Carley.

The holistic treatments proved to be especially effective during Carley’s difficult journey. However, these treatments were not available in hospital and were very difficult to access in general. The combination of these holistic treatments and traditional medicine such as chemotherapy and surgery is now called integrative cancer care.

Carley’s Angels is working create access to integrative cancer care for all patients. And we do this all while spreading Carley’s contagious message of “always smile”.

Where the Angel & the cancer meet, that’s where our story begins”
– Bryan Auld (Carley’s High School Principal)

For as long as Carley’s Angels has existed, we have put together a team for The Ride to Conquer Cancer. The Ride to Conquer Cancer is a 2-day 225 km cycling event from Toronto to Niagara Falls in support of The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. While some of the team members have changed over our 10+ years of riding, we have always been led strong by cycling fanatics and Carley’s parents, Mark and May Allison.

Mark and May first completed the Ride in 2012, before Carley was even diagnosed with cancer. Little did they know where it would go from there. In 2014, while in the middle of her cancer treatment, Carley was invited to sing the national anthem at the start line. And just as the 5,000 riders were touched by Carley, she was touched by them – in 2015, Carley created a team, designed a jersey, and prepared to ride herself. In early 2015 when Carley gained her wings, a beautiful dedication was organized for Carley at the opening ceremonies, with her Dad giving a moving speech, and the Carley’s Angels team leading out all of the riders onto the course.

Years later, the team is still going strong with many new and returning riders. But one thing hasn’t changed – and that’s Mark and May Allison leading the team in memory of their courageous daughter.

After Carley’s passing, Riley was unable to write one of her exams, prompting her professor to request a meeting. However, instead of discussing coursework, the professor shared a personal experience, asking if Riley had started finding dimes. This introduced her to the concept of Dimes from Heaven—the belief that discovering dimes in unexpected places is a sign from a loved one who has passed.

Ever since Carley gained her angel wings in 2015, Carley’s loved ones have found thousands of dimes. We’ve found dimes in the most remarkable places at the most remarkable times – from Carley’s birthday to our photoshoots & fundraising events. Even one dime, in true Carley fashion, was dropped on her little sister, Samantha’s head. Regardless of the situation, it always puts a smile on our face knowing that our girl is proudly looking down on us and cheering us all on.

If you happen to be lucky enough to find a dime, we think this might be Carley’s way of thanking you for continuing to support groundbreaking integrative cancer care in her honour.

Our fundraising events technically started even before the official inception of Carley’s Angels, with the first “Concert for Carley”. This iconic event was held in 2013 and Carley herself helped organize and event she performed at. In 2015, we officially kicked things off with “Cycle for Carley”, a community favourite where participants raced a grueling 2 km on a stationary bike. Ask anyone who has done it, we are glad we’re in our Gala era now! 

Over the years we’ve done it all, from concerts and athletic competitions, to virtual events, and fancy dinners. With every fundraiser held, our community continues to show up and support us in a bigger way each time, and for that we couldn’t be more grateful.

Our retail store started with Carley’s older sister Riley hand-stamping jewelry in their parents’ garage. Since then, the retail store has grown and evolved over the years to include a diverse range of products, including clothing, accessories, and home goods, all which 100% of the profits support our mission! The team is always working on refining the items we offer in the store based on what our community is going to love.

As always, we bring the retail store everywhere we go to allow new and existing community members to purchase gifts that give back, and of course, share our message of ‘Always Smile.’

In 2017, Carley’s cancer story was shared with the world through a full-length feature film titled Kiss & Cry.

Like our girl, the filming of this movie was anything but ordinary. Filming locations included many of the real life locations from Carley’s life, including the Allison family home, Bayview Glen high school, Cricket Club skating rink, and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Many of Carley’s close family and friends are featured throughout, including actress Sarah Fisher, one of Carley’s real life besties, who plays the role of Carley in the film.

In true Carley’s Angels fashion, to commemorate the release of the movie we hosted an extravagant premiere night, complete with a Q&A with Carley’s family and the Kiss & Cry cast and crew for the 800+ audience members in attendance.

Carley’s Angels wouldn’t be where we are today without the community of people, and organizations that have supported us along the way.

In 2019, we launched our ambassador program which includes a hand-selected group of community members each year who embody our core values and eagerly want to share it with the world. These Carley’s Angels Champions have helped us to promote our mission and bring new faces to our community year after year.

We also need to take a moment to thank our volunteers. These individuals are the heartbeat of any Carley’s Angels event you’ve attended. We would not be able to host our amazing events without the many extra hands that are provided by our dedicated volunteers, many who have been with us since inception.

Lastly, we need to thank the organizations that are on this journey with us. Organizations such as Pink Pearl, Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) Canadian Cancer Advocacy, Queering Cancer, and Ontario Parents Against Childhood Cancer (OPACC). These organizations have teamed up with us on collaborations in our retail store and other initiatives to unite together in our collective mission of providing human centered cancer care for everyone.

Our first big gift. Carley’s Angels gifted SickKids $150,000 to fund this first-of-its-kind Fellowship. The Fellowship’s focus was to implement therapies encompassing mental health, nutrition, mindfulness, and support groups for SickKids cancer patients and their families, including parents and siblings.

The SickKids Fellow hosted workshops and met with each patient admitted to the cancer floor and their families to address their social and psychological needs, providing resources such as mental health assessments, coping mechanisms, and linking families with community resources. Throughout the program, the therapies and protocols were evaluated to measure their overall effectiveness on patient wellbeing and patient outcomes.

At the end of the two-year commitment by Carley’s Angels, the success of the program was overwhelming. SickKids decided to transition the Fellowship to a permanent, full-time role at the hospital. Now, all SickKids oncology patients have access to this program on a permanent basis, allowing us to turn our attention to the next integrative cancer care initiative in need of our essential seed funding.

Carley’s story was immortalized once again, this time through the more intimate lens of a book titled “Always Smile: Carley Allison’s Secrets for Laughing, Loving and Living.” Drawing from Carley’s beloved self-written blog and the stories and memories of her family and friends, Alice Kuipers pieced together these many voices, plus plenty of Carley’s texts and photos, to show her transformation from ordinary to extraordinary and convey her personal rules for living well in the worst of times.

We marked this momentous occasion with a book release party – an immersive evening that brought Carley’s story and legacy to life through imagery, speeches, and a live reading from the pages of the book.

To date, Carley’s story has been shared worldwide through thousands of copies sold.

We wanted to take a moment here to recognize every single organization that has supported us over the years. In 2020, we celebrated 5 years of partnership with many of our sponsorship organizations and this year we are excited to celebrate a full decade. We like to thank our sponsors a lot, and that’s because we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.

We are so truly grateful to the businesses and partners who have become one-time, event, or annual sponsors and donors over the years. Without their contributions, Carley’s Angels could not become a leader in inspiring integrative cancer care. Thanks to their support Carley’s Angels can and will change the cancer experience to represent the needs of all patients.

In 2021, we levelled up again with a $300,000 donation to the Princess Margaret Cancer Experience Program, the world’s first integrative cancer care initiative of its kind. This marked our largest gift to date, supporting a program that is transforming the way cancer care is delivered and experienced.

Focused around its pillars of supportive communication, navigation, DE&I, ambiance, and engagement, this program looks to overcome identified obstacles and challenges to provide access to integrative cancer treatments to patients when and where they need them. As an example, Project Empathy was an initiative undertaken by the program to create cinematic resources for hospital staff teaching them how to communicate empathetically to cancer patients at various intersections of their treatment.

The Cancer Experience Program has always been about putting the human touch in cancer care and now it has proven to be so effective, it is being adopted by world-class cancer centres around the globe.

Figure skating is at our core. Inspired by Carley who competitively figure skated before, during and after cancer treatment. Motivated to continue her impact in the figure skating community, we created Sparkelle, a custom figure skating dress line that supports our cause!

Each dress is designed by the creative & brilliant Riley, Sammy, and May Allison. And of course, paying homage to our namesake, every dress includes ‘Elle’ somewhere in its name, after Carley Elle Allison.

Since inception, we have launched an exclusive yearly collection of ready to ship and made to order dresses along with the option to work with the team and design a custom creation. Year over year our collections sell out and our growth continues exponentially, blowing our expectations out of the water each time. We love seeing our pieces on figure skaters locally, across  country and now on the world stage!

Sparked from a simple idea, Sparkelle has transformed into one of our most successful ventures and truly is the ‘figure skating dress that gives back’, carrying on Carley’s legacy one figure skating dress at a time.

We promised to not let her story become a tragedy. We have taken that mission on every single day, continuing Carley’s legacy, one patient, program, and smile at a time.

We are here tonight at the 10 Year Legacy Gala to celebrate everything we’ve accomplished over the last 10 years and launch us into the next decade of Carley’s Angels. It look us almost 7 years to raise our first million, 3 years to raise the next million, and we don’t plan on slowing down any time soon.