When Rocco Monteleone of Penn Township was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December 2018, the outpouring of support was immediate.

Friends, neighbors and community members quickly formed Rocco’s Warriors to raise money for the 2-year-old’s treatment, and were devastated when he succumbed to the disease a few months later in March 2019.

But Monteleone’s family and Rocco’s Warriors were not about to give up their mission.

“They just wanted to keep helping other families,” said co-founder Robin Lang. “We turned it into a nonprofit over the summer, so, now, it’s them helping families financially.”

To further that mission, the group is organizing a full day of fundraising at the American Legion Post 344 in Jeannette, with the first Rocco’s Warriors Craft and Vendor Show during the day and “A Concert from Heaven” in the evening.

“Rocco’s dad, Brandon, contacted a couple local bands because he’d wanted to do this last year, but things got so complicated after Rocco’s passing,” Lang said. “The Legion was great in providing a venue for the concert and, once they got that all in play, Rocco’s mother Michelle and I sat down, saw that we had the space all day and thought, ‘Why not try and do a vendor show?’”

More than 30 vendors are signed up for the show in April.

“You don’t have to pay to get in, but for a $5 donation, we’re going to hold a raffle for a 65-inch TV,” Lang said. “We also made up little cards, which people can fill with stickers by making purchases from vendor tables. If you fill your card up, you’ll also be entered in the raffle.”

The craft show will include a Chinese auction and 50/50 raffle, and Lang said several vendors are donating a portion of their profits to Rocco’s Warriors.

After a short break in the afternoon, music will fill the hall in the evening with sets from Twisted Fate, Lemonade, Norman Nardini and Triple Play.

Proceeds will go toward Rocco’s Warriors’ programs.

“Every month, they bring cupcakes to the UPMC Children’s Hospital unit where Rocco stayed and, at Christmas, they did gift bags for families on that floor,” Lang said.

Group member Jessica Comer said Rocco loved helping others and those who attend the show and concert will be helping other families in their fight.

“It’s a fight Rocco lost, but a fight that has given overwhelming inspiration to his army,” Comer said. “His army won’t let him down. We got you, baby boy.”

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