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Monrovia org to host event to help families battling pediatric cancer
Arcadia Weekly Aug 28, 2023
Tina Donhoff, seated with Kevin and Leslianne Prestesater, holds up her auction bidding card. | Photo courtesy of Here to Serve
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A Monrovia-based nonprofit that provides support to families with children battling cancer is hosting a casino-themed “FUNraiser” next month at the Arcadia Community Center, organizers announced.
Here to Serve’s Fall FUNraiser Casino Night is scheduled for the end of September and features a wide variety of games, auctions, food, presentations and the opportunity to support families, who, as HTS observed on its website, “find themselves on the pediatric cancer journey they never imagined they would have to take.”
The event’s Patient Family Speaker is scheduled to be Iliana Lozano, mother of 7-year-old Ayden Denne who has been battling leukemia for five years, organizers said.
“HTS provides wraparound physical, emotional, financial, and when requested, spiritual support currently not offered,” Matt Wolf, an HTS Advisory Board member, said in an email to HeySoCal.com. “We combine the services of other charities, corporations, and professional service organizations, and mobilize a network of friends, neighbors, and loved ones in a custom online care community.”
That community provides “targeted, non-medical assistance to families battling cancer,” Wolf said. “It’s time the world knew that cancer patients need support and funding, not just cancer research and hospitals that treat it.”
All proceeds and donations from the FUNraiser event will go toward HTS’ nationwide effort, Wolf said.
Popular casino games at the event include poker, blackjack, roulette and craps, and the dinner is a “Mexican Fiesta Feast,” according to organizers. The silent auction will have about 80 auction items and baskets, giving way to a live auction after the event’s first couple of hours. Auction items include a range of products, services, lodging and event tickets.
Early Bird Tickets for the HTS FUNraiser are available for $75 until Sept. 16, after that the admission fee is $85.
The event is scheduled for 5-10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Arcadia Community Center, 365 Campus Drive.
“Here to Serve launched at City of Hope, and the Arcadia Community Center offered the organization a discounted rate for their large ballroom and kitchen,” Wolf said.
HTS patient families were only in the San Gabriel Valley area until the organization went nationwide in 2021, he added
More information on the FUNraiser, including sponsorship, donation and volunteer opportunities, is available at heretoserve.org/events/fall-funraiser-casino-night.
