Made In Chicago: Dainty Warrior Project
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A five-year-old's art drives the non-profit Dainty Warrior Project.
The project is the outgrowth of one mother's effort to help her daughter endure treatments for a rare eye cancer. When Erica Moriarty put daughter Ania's work on her blog page, people wanted to buy it.
"She created about 50 paintings and we sold probably at least a thousand pieces of artwork," Erica said. "They were all prints."
Ania lost the eye but continued to paint and is now cancer-free. She has graduated from coloring her mother's sketches to creating her own work. Erica says she and her husband decided to incorporate as a not-for-profit that can help other young cancer patients' families with everyday expenses.
"If it's boxes of diapers or a car insurance payments, we can make that happen for them," Erica said.
Ania and her parents visit young cancer patients at area hospitals, leaving many with butterfly wings of the type she wore.
"As long as we can get the donations, we will continue to help as many families as we can," Erica said.
For more information, visit www.daintywarriorproject.org.