Brenda Mullen hopes the dream bedrooms that a pair of Albion girls received earlier this year are the first of   many made possible Billy’s Gift, a non-profit organization aimed at helping families with children facing life-threatening   or life-altering illnesses.

Mullen, who started the non-profit last year to honor the memory of her son, Billy, who she lost to Leukemia more than 25   years ago. Billy’s Gift’s goal is to provide an oasis of joy and comfort for children and their families.

“It’s very rewarding to do things I was unable to do for my own son,” Mullen said. “It feels amazing to help these families   and kids. I want to make them feel like a kid again, away from the hospitals, doctors and all the stuff they have to deal   with.”

The Mullen’s son Billy was diagnosed with T-Cell Leukemia right around his first birthday. His battle with cancer took up   the last four year’s of his short life.

“He was in the hospital every other week ... our life was Children’s Hospital and Roswell Park,” Mullen said. “At first it   went very well, he did chemo, but then the cancer relapsed and he didn’t recover.”

“It was tough, but something good has come from it.”

The non-profit is now planning and raising funds for their next project. Billy’s Gift is holding its second-annual “Fall into   Love” event next month. The fundraiser, which fatures wine, hors d’oeuvres and live music, is being held at 7 p.m. Sept. 29   at Becker Farms and Vizcarra Vineyards in Gasport.

Mullen estimated the average project would cost about $3,000 to undertake even with furniture donations like the organization   received from Pie’s Furniture. But the group’s first project, and the first family they set out to help, is anything but average.

Ondrea and Angelo Pate have been blessed with five children. The youngest pair are sisters Eowyn, 8, named for the “Lord of   The Rings” princess and Maia, 6, whose middle name (Isabella) allows them to call shorten it to the Italian for “my beauty.”

They were both born with significant medical issues.

Eowyn has a genetic condition that does not allow here body to break down stored fat for energy. Ondrea said she has to have   calories in her system at all times, which necessitated a stomach tube to keep her body going.

Maia was born with a tumor on the end of her spine that pushed her lower torso organs forward and forced surgeries to repair   her urinary and lower digestive systems. Ondrea said the resulting loss of padding tissue makes common actions like sitting   and using the bathroom painful.

The pains and repeated medical visits hasn’t kept the girls from living happy lives.

“They just keep going,” Ondrea said. “It’s amazing to watch ... they are amazing little girls.”

They have an amazingly strong family. Ondrea said they all have a “hospital mode” that kicks in when Eowyn or Maia gets sick.

“Everyone knows what they have to do, they all shift into gear,” Ondrea said. “We’re not about “woe is us.” This is what we   are as a family, we take care of our family, it’s what we do. We’re trying to keep things as regular as we can for them.”