Grace Murphy loved animals and took every opportunity she could find to enjoy and interact with them at the Trevor Zoo at the Millbrook School. She was only 17 years old when she passed away, after a battle with brain cancer.

While coping with cancer proved to be a long, hard road for her to travel, her family and friends credited her with always taking time to notice and embrace the needs of others. The summers she spent at the Hole in the Wall Gang camp were among the times she felt the disease was not dominating her life.

According to her loved ones, her fight against cancer was a deep testament to the need to understand brain cancer better and to provide pediatric patients with the same opportunities as adults.

Before she passed away, working together with family and friends, she established the Grace Badger Murphy Fund.

The fund provides grants to nonprofit organizations that Grace felt shared her passion for life, learning and joy – including the Trevor Zoo, the Hole in the Wall Gang and organizations supporting pediatric brain cancer research. By establishing the fund, she and her family and friends, believed they could affirm her philosophy of living and help the organizations and programs that were personally meaningful to her.