Francesca Kaczynski was filled with laughter. The little girl smiled despite her surroundings. In videos, she played with balloons with Elmo on them.

At 6 months old, doctors diagnosed her with a rare type of brain cancer, and she died before her first birthday.

"She was just this beautiful, beautiful spirit that was dealt a really bad fate," said Francine Smilen, Kaczynski's grandmother.

Smilen said the Brooklyn baby was a fighter and she refuses to forget her, putting a cardboard cutout of her in her dining room.

"This is what I look at every time I have a meal,” Smilen said.

Smilen says she is trying to use the pain to promote awareness about childhood cancer. She has raised more than $3 million through fundraisers for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, establishing a new infant brain tumor program.

"I think about how unfair it is that these children do not have a chance at life," Smilen said.

Smilen says her family turned to the Empire State Building for help, hoping the building owner would light it up in gold in September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The Empire State Building lights up for many different reasons.

This year, the building has lit up for television shows like "Sex and the City," Breast Cancer Awareness Month and even the Philadelphia Eagles, who won the NFC Championship game.

The building says anyone can apply and it is free to light up the tower. However, Smilen's 2021 request was rejected.

"After careful consideration of your proposal, unfortunately the decision has been made to deny your request," the Empire State Building said in an email.

The American Childhood Cancer Organization says the iconic building has been rejecting requests from other families for almost a decade.

"We never really had a reason why," said Ruth Hoffman, the CEO of the American Childhood Cancer Organization.

Hoffman says her nonprofit organization has raised $98.8 million, and lighting up the Empire State Building would be a big help.

"There is such a huge need for research and corporate donors,” Hoffman said.

The Empire State Building is a private entity and it has full discretion as to who and what it honors. NY1 reached out to the Empire State Building to learn about its decision-making process and has not heard back.

Meanwhile, Smilen questions the Empire State Building's decision. She hopes the iconic symbol of the city will reconsider its choice and honor the life and fight of her granddaughter — and countless others.

"In Judaism, we say may her memory be a blessing and I never really understood that until now,” Smilen said.