Remembering Riley
Ten years after Riley Fessenden passed away, the annual Riley Rocks Gala is bigger than ever
This month marks a decade since Riley Fessenden passed away. The 9-year-old’s battle with cancer broke the heart of the community where she was raised, and inspired it at the same time.
On Thursday, the 4th annual Riley Rocks Gala will be held at the Danversport Yacht Club. The event raises money to help families who are battling childhood cancer and to fund pediatric cancer research. More than 400 people are expected to attend.
It doesn’t surprise me that Riley created such a legacy. But I have to admit I was unaware of the full story behind the gala and the incredible success it has had raising money and helping so many people.
In 2013, at the age of 6, Riley was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called esthesioneuroblastoma. Over the next three years she bravely underwent 14 rounds of chemotherapy, 104 radiation treatments, and countless hospital stays, medications and blood transfusions.
Beverly responded with love and support. A Riley Rocks fundraiser carnival drew a huge crowd. School PTOs and other groups delivered gift baskets to Riley’s home during a “12 Days of Riley Rocks” event over the holidays. Students at Beverly High started a campaign that led to a landscaped Riley Rocks garden at Lynch Park. Riley met Tom Brady, was named grand marshal of Beverly’s holiday parade, and was given the key to the city by Mayor Mike Cahill on “Riley Fessenden Day.”
Two days after Riley died, hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil at Lynch Park, next to the Riley Rocks garden, many wearing pink and turquoise, her favorite colors.
Riley’s parents, Kamie and Todd, created the Riley Rocks Memorial Foundation to raise money for cancer research and help other families dealing with childhood cancer. Kamie said the fund came about because, as Riley battled, so many organizations stepped up to help their family because she wasn’t working.
Whenever possible Riley and the family chose to give back to these organizations. Kamie said it was only natural that the mission took shape helping others in the same way their family was so fortunate to receive.
“It's hard for families because your whole entire world goes on pause when your child is sick,” Kamie said.
But it wasn’t until four years ago that the first Riley Rocks Gala was held. And this is the part I didn’t know — the one who came up with the idea was Meghan Fessenden, Riley’s sister.
Meghan was a junior at Beverly High School when she decided to organize a gala as part of a DECA project with her friend, Keelin Cannon. Meghan is Riley’s big sister, but she’s only a year and a half older. She was just 10 years old herself when Riley passed away.
“We were best friends,” said Meghan, who is now 20 and a junior at Coastal Carolina University. “We were inseparable. We were only 18 months apart so we shared friends. We did everything together.”
According to Kendel Davy, a close family friend and a founding board member of the foundation, the initial reaction to Meghan’s big idea for a gala was, “That’s crazy.”
“We were more of a mom-and-pop shop nonprofit,” Kendel said. “But Meghan knows what she wants. She said, ‘I’m doing it. Get on board or don’t.’”
“I wanted it to be much bigger,” Meghan told me. “Something that would bring everyone together in one room.”
The gala raised $25,000 that first year. More people stepped up to help and the amount doubled the next two years — $50,000, then $100,000. It got so big they had to move it to the larger upstairs ballroom at Danversport.
“It gave us so much visibility,” Kendel said. “It started to be this trickling in of gifts. Then we got grants, new donors, and we started to grow the foundation.
“Meghan loves Riley so much and she cares so much about continuing Riley’s legacy and helping families,” Kendel added. “She will not stop. A lot of the ideas we have come from Meghan, like remembering to focus on siblings because she was part of the battle. She said, ‘When people cared about me too, it always made me feel better.’”
Kendel’s connection to Riley’s story also came about through a DECA project. In 2013, when Kendel was a junior at Beverly High School, she and two other students, Jack Morency and Joey Kozlowski, raised money for the Riley Rocks Foundation. She ended up forming a close relationship with Riley and the Fessenden family.
“I feel like it was me, Riley and Meghan. We just did everything together,” Kendel said. “They came to work with me at Dairy Queen. We went to the beach together. They came to my cheerleading competition in Rhode Island. When our team won a national championship, we got jackets for Riley and Meghan.
“I feel like Riley and Meghan have this really infectious, wonderful way. If they love you, they love you so much. They’re so sweet and kind and thoughtful.”
When Kendel gets married next summer, Meghan will be her maid of honor.
Kendel said the work of the foundation would not be possible without its team of volunteers: Amy Nesbitt, Jess Hannon, Ali Lamson, Alex Kelliher, Grace Kowalski, Caroline Munnelly and Mary McDonald.
The foundation has given out over $250,000 in grant money to support over 150 children who are dealing with pediatric cancer. The foundation calls them “Riley’s Rockstars.”
One of those rockstars is Auden Muchnik of Beverly. Auden was diagnosed with bone cancer when she was 18 years old. She received a grant from the Riley Rocks Foundation and has since helped organize the galas and has been one of the speakers.
Auden, 23, said the cancer has come back three times. Doctors told her this last time that it’s terminal, although she wasn’t given a timeline.
“So I’ve just been living with that, trying to make the best of every day, but dealing with a lot of pain from surgery and all of the treatments I’ve done,” she said.
Auden said the grant money from Riley Rocks has helped with the many expenses associated with her treatment, including massages, acupuncture, hypnosis and physical therapy.
Auden called the work of the Riley Rocks Foundation “really inspiring.” In addition to helping out with the gala, she has attended Riley Rocks events for kids with cancer such as shoe painting and a magazine photo shoot.
“Cancer can be quite isolating, so finding a community through that is really important,” she told me. “That’s a big part of what Riley Rocks strives to do. Knowing that you’re not alone really makes the burden for kids easier.”
You can still buy tickets for the 2026 Riley Rocks Gala or become a sponsor here. You can also donate to the Riley Rocks Memorial Foundation, host a childhood cancer drive or a fundraiser, or volunteer.
Thank you so much for this wonderful tribute to Riley and her extended family. The legacy Riley left is just beyond imagination. It’s not often that one person is so well known in their community, especially at nine years old. Riley wanted to be a teacher and she would have been a sophomore in college. Endicott gave her an honorary degree and we are sure she would have gone there.
Again, thank you for your journalistic work and spreading the word about the Riley Rocks Memorial Foundation.