Maria’s Christmas Shop to benefit Prayers from Maria

Maria’s Christmas Shop in Rocky River is returning for the holiday season with all proceeds going to support the Prayers from Maria Foundation, according to a news release.

Maria’s Shop offers 46 gifting opportunities, such as sunflower and hope apparel, accessories, home goods, hostess gifts, gifts for children, bird feeders and more, the release said.

Maria’s Christmas Shop is open through Dec. 23 at 20226 Detroit Road in Rocky River, across from St. Christopher Church.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,

Tuesdays and Thursdays; 5-8 p.m., Thursdays; and noon to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.

In addition, Prayers from Maria is partnering with Lakewood’s GV Art + Design to offer sunflower-themed shirts and winter hats promoting Love Your Melon.

Prayers from Maria remains inspired by the prayers of 7-year-old Maria McNamara whose battle against a brain stem glioma ended in 2007, the release said.

While receiving treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Maria prayed for the sick children she met, wanting the doctors to find a way to help them.

Prayers from Maria Foundation’s 50-acre Field of Hope sunflower garden in Avon attracts thousands of visitors annually, while its summer events – The Sunflower Soiree and Sunflower Wine Festival – raise hundreds of thousands of dollars that fund research into the causes and cures for childhood glioma, the release said.

Each grant awarded by the Prayers fromMaria Foundation is always named in the honor and memory of a child lost to brain cancer.

Prayers from Maria Foundation, which was founded by Maria’s parents Megan and Ed McNamara of Avon Lake, is dedicated to answering Maria’s prayers through the funding of meaningful global research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for children’s gliomas, according to the release.