Rockville Centre twins enjoy Runway Heroes fashion show with the Yankees

Aiden and Mason Schaefer, who will turn 5 on Sunday, received an early birthday celebration last week.

The identical twins from Rockville Centre participated in a Runway Heroes fashion show at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan on June 18. Runway Heroes is a non-profit organization that features children with cancer in its fashion events.

“As a parent, watching your child walk down with a smile, you’re proud of them,” said Denise Schaefer, Aiden and Mason’s mother. “This is their moment to smile in front of everybody, wave and just show people that they have this.”

When Aiden and Mason were 2 ½ years old, Aiden was diagnosed with leukemia. He is currently in remission and has one year of treatment left at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, Denise said.

As part of the New York Yankees’ 10th annual HOPE Week, Yankees baseball players attended the fashion show and donated $10,000 to Runway Heroes. The team’s week of HOPE, or Helping Others Preserve and Excel, raises awareness for and donates to a different cause each day.

Decked out in gray suits and fresh hairstyles, Aiden and Mason walked the runway side-by-side with New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.

“It’s a very humbling experience that they stopped their lives to be able to do this with them,” Denise said of the Yankees. “It is such a confidence booster [for them] to be able to walk the runway and just feel good about themselves.”

About 20 children participated in the fashion show at Kleinfeld. They received professional makeovers and photographs, hung out with Yankees, including General Manager Brian Cashman and Shortstop Didi Gregorius, and had their bios read as they strutted down the runway.

Rockville Centre native Katie Richner, a pediatric oncology nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, volunteered at the fashion show, helping out Runway Heroes founder Rachel Goldman. “Each kid really felt special, and Rachel makes every child feel included,” she said. “They had such big smiles on their faces.”

Richner met Aiden and Mason at Sunrise Day Camp, a free summer camp in Wheatley Heights for children with cancer and their siblings, where she was a nurse last year, and introduced them to Runway Heroes.

After the show, the children, their families and Runway Heroes organizers were invited to Yankee Stadium for a matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays. Goldman threw the ceremonial first pitch, and the Yankees beat the Rays, 6-3. The children joined Goldman on the mound, then enjoyed the game from the Legends Club suite and congratulated the team on their win with post-game high-fives.

“They go through so much,” Richner said, “so for them to have this one special day is amazing.”