[quote_center]Over 500 attendees help break fundraising record[/quote_center]
by Lori Smith,
Loveland non-profit, CancerFree KIDS’ Celebration of Champions Dinner was held on Thursday, November 10 at The Manor House in Mason. Over 500 generous donors attended the event, raising $300,000+ for pediatric cancer research. There was not a dry eye in the room when 40 brave pediatric cancer champions came onto the stage and shared with the audience how long they have been cancer-free, from 2 weeks to 25 years. Many attendees were moved to raise their bid numbers higher than ever before during the paddle raise portion of the evening.
Brad Johansen and Bob Herzog of Channel 12 were the event emcees, who kept the audience entertained with their humor and genuine concern for curing pediatric cancer. This is Brad’s tenth year hosting the event and he, along with his wife, Colleen, surprised CancerFree KIDS with a check for $10,000 from their foundation. Brad and Bob enticed the attendees with a variety of Live Auction experiences from a week in Tuscany to a Yacht Party on the Ohio River.
“We continue to raise more funds for research each year at this event, which is amazing,” said Ellen Flannery, CancerFree KIDS Executive Director and Founder. “It is such an inspiring event – not only seeing all of the children who are alive today because of research, but also seeing a room full of people who care enough to do something about it.”
CancerFree KIDS is a local non-profit committed to eradicating cancer as a life-threatening disease in children by funding promising research that might otherwise go unfunded. Each year, our organization reviews and selects research ideas presented by local scientists, funding a total of $2.3 million in grants over the past ten years. For more information about CancerFree KIDS, please visit www.cancerfreekids.org or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cancerfreekids), Twitter
