Sassy Massey Toy Drive Shatters Goal; Will Give To 10 Hospitals

A toy drive that was launched by a 5-year-old girl with brain cancer has far surpassed its goal of collecting 10,000 toys for children at area hospitals. The Sassy Massey Toy Drive collected 24,633 toys for hospitalized children. That's more than double the ambitious 10,000 goal that was set by the 5-year-old in the months preceding her death. Jillian Massey, who founded the Sassy Massey Toy Drive, died Dec. 4.

Her family announced the results of the drive in a Facebook live video Sunday.

Her mother, Janelle Massey, said Jillian is "dancing up in heaven," celebrating the success. She thanked everyone for their participation in the toy drive. "It's allowed us to really just capture the essence of Jillian and all of you have just been an amazing support system to just focus on what we should be focusing on," she said.

"We just can't wait to deliver miles of smiles to 10 hospitals," her mother said during the special announcement.

A pep rally was held Monday morning at Ridley High School in Delaware County, followed by a special presentation and toy delivery escort.

The toys will be delivered to the following hospitals: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Lehigh Valley Health Network's Children's Hospital; Doylestown Hospital; and DuPont Children's Hospital in Delaware, among others, the Morning Call reported.

The following is a portion of the story originally published on Patch Dec. 6.

Ten-thousand toys: That was the 5-year-old's goal. Her Christmas list wasn't extra long. These toys were not for her. Rather, Jillian Massey made it her life's mission to collect them for children in local oncology units. But now she won't be here to make sure it happens.

Jillian, known lovingly as Sassy Massey and sometimes Santa's CEO, died Monday, Dec. 4 after a 20-month battle with brain cancer.

Now, her family and friends are doing all they can to see that the dying wish of the spunky girl from Pennsylvania comes true.

Jillian became ill in April 2016, less than a month after her 4th birthday.

One day, she woke up and struggled to walk and balance. After a visit to her doctor, she was sent to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where a CAT scan revealed every parent's worst nightmare: a tumor, according to a GoFundMe page set up for her family.

Her parents later learned it was not just one tumor but "numerous and complicated" brain tumors along with her spinal cord, the fundraising page explained.

When her condition worsened this spring, doctors told her parents she would not be able to survive. Jillian was put in palliative care, allowing her to live her last few months of life as fully as possible, her parents said on a website created for the toy drive.

But as she battled what would be a terminal illness, she set a goal. She knew what it was like to spend days, weeks, months in the hospital. She wanted to give other children with the same plight a reason to smile.

Click here to read the full story.

PHOTO: GoFundMe