Alison Hornung: Taking the World by Storm

Samantha Campbell, News Editor

Pandemic stress? Unlike most young adults who have been bored in the house or overwhelmed with online school, Alison Hornung has made the best of a difficult time, not only for herself, but for many people around her.

Hornung is the owner and CEO of two businesses: Glimmer of Hope and Miracle Masks by Ali. Now most college students don’t know what to do with their lives just yet, but it seems Hornung has known what she was going to do most of her life. Hornung said, “My sister’s friend was diagnosed with cancer when she was 11. That was kinda my first experience with seeing a child be diagnosed with cancer, so that kind of sparked my passion . . .”

Hornung came to a realization in March, thanks to Team Lilly, that pediatric cancer patients and everyone else are in need of masks for protection from Covid-19. Alison believes this is important, because patients of childhood cancer wore masks before the pandemic and will continue to wear them even after the pandemic is over. She believed that it was vital, so she created another business, a non-profit organization called Glimmer of Hope. Glimmer of Hope is an amazing organization that focuses on making bald American Girl dolls for girls all over the world. Thanks to one of the angels of childhood cancer, Ella Integlia, Hornung and Ella’s mother decided now was a better time than ever. “ . . . Our goal is to just make every girl feel represented through a doll that looks like them.” Hornung stated. She started Glimmer of Hope in July of 2020 and already has dolls in almost all 50 states and other countries, such as Scotland, Venezuela, and the Philippines. 

Now, many people wonder what else could this girl do, or has time to do. But dolls and masks are not where Hornung ceases to amaze every person she meets, she donates platelets, blood, and still has time to compete in beauty pageants! Hornung tells the Current Wave she has donated blood and platelets over 10 each! “Yes, so I started donating platelets a year or two ago. It’s just something I encourage everyone to do, if you are able, now I go back and forth between donating blood and platelets, just depending how my health is. You can save three lives by donating five minutes of your time and blood, so I really encourage everyone to do that.”

How can a triple major at URI and an entrepreneur possibly have time to compete in Miss Rhode Island? For Hornung, the drive is for the purpose. Alison says she competes to advocate for childhood cancer during the interview portion of the competition. 

If you are wondering how you can help Alison, the fighters, and survivors, alongside everyone helping along the way, make sure to check out Glimmer of Hope and Miracle Masks by Ali websites and social media. 

Miracle Masks by Ali: http://www6.miraclemaskbyali.com/

Glimmer of Hope partnerships: https://www.shop.com

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