Andalusia High School sophomore Ella Kate Nichols is no stranger to raising money for cancer research, but this time she is taking the fundraising to the baseball diamond.

She is the founder of Buckets of Smiles, a 501c3 non-profit concentrating on providing buckets full of activities and fun items to the patients of Childhood Cancer.

But she decided to join Rally! after meeting a young girl who was associated with the organization.

“In 2012, I went to this thing in Orlando called Princess Camp through the Miss America Organization,” Nichols said. “There was this girl there from Georgia and we became best friends. Her name was Tori and she had medulloblastoma. The more that I got to know her, the more I learned about childhood cancer, and how the research for it is severely needed.”

Nichols said that within 20 years, there have only been three new drugs for childhood cancer.

“Children get different kinds of cancer than adults,” Nichols said. “And there have only been three new treatments for these kids. I decided that I wanted to get involved and raise money for research and I found out that Tori was a Rally! kid, and they help them do certain things like with the hospital stays and with medical needs.”

She wanted to join the Rally! cause, because of several people that she knows who have dealt with cancer.

“My uncle passed away before I got the chance to meet him,” Nichols said. “He had leukemia and passed away when he was 14. I also have another childhood friend who lost her eye to retinoblastoma, so this foundation and this cause is really close to me.”

Along with raising money for cancer research, Nichols will also sing the national anthem at the Atlanta Braves game for which she is selling tickets . It will be her second performance at a Braves game.

“When I was 12 I got the chance to sing the national anthem,” Nichols said. “I am pretty excited to do it this year as well. I usually don’t get nervous, but it is still a couple months away. It is something that is really fun and I get to spend my time with Brian McCann, who is my favorite baseball player so that is a plus.”

Nichols will be selling tickets for the Braves vs. the Washington Nationals game on Sat., July 20, 2019, at 7:20 EST, at the new Suntrust Park in Atlanta.

All of the ticket proceeds will go to the Rally Foundation to fund childhood cancer research.

Tickets are $33 and are available in the Home Run Porch section of the stadium.

Payment can be sent by paypal to smilebuckets@gmail.com, or checks made payable to Buckets of Smiles. Tickets will be delivered in June and have to be ordered by May 25.

For more information, contact Nichols or her mother, Amy Nichols, at 334-208-6422, smilebuckets@gmail.com or amy.nichols22@yahoo.com.