Cure 4 The Kids Foundation’s Mad Hatter Tea Party Raises More Than $23K To Help Childhood Cancer Survivors
Cure 4 The Kids Foundation’s 4th Annual Mad Hatter Tea Party raised more than $23,000 to benefit the StoryBook Homes Long-Term Follow-Up (LTFU) Clinic for childhood cancer survivors.
Pictured: Kirstie Ennis (center) was this year’s featured speaker at the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation Mad Hatter Tea Party. Ennis is a former marine who was shot down in Afghanistan in 2012, an amputee, Hollywood stuntwoman, and an avid mountain climber. She recently returned from an attempt to be the first woman with a leg amputated above the knee to climb Mt. Everest. After making it past 28,000 feet, her team feared they would not have enough oxygen to scale the summit and survive. She plans to attempt Mt. Everest again next year. She spoke to childhood cancer survivors about facing challenges and hardships in their lives, and despite those challenges, finding the ability to overcome obstacles. (Also pictured is Tea Party Emcee (left) Krystal Allan, News 3 Anchor and Reporter; and Annette Logan-Parker, President & CEO, Cure 4 The Kids Foundation.)
The LTFU is Nevada’s only outpatient clinic focused entirely on providing health monitoring and patient-specific education that will help childhood cancer survivors live their healthiest lives. This type of clinic is essential to childhood cancer survivors since some treatments used to cure children of cancer can cause secondary health issues, often called “late-effects.” The LTFU educates patients on their specific risks, which are based on their cancer treatment, their age at diagnosis, their gender, and other risk factors.
Funds raised at the Mad Hatter Tea Party help underwrite the cost of the LTFU and the many critical medical services provided to patients. Like all Cure 4 The Kids Foundation programs, patients are accepted with or without medical insurance, and regardless of their ability to pay— no patient is denied treatment for financial reasons. In addition, all childhood cancer survivors are eligible for LTFU clinic services irrespective of where they received their cancer treatment.
“This was by far our largest and most successful Tea Party event to date,” said Annette Logan-Parker, President & CEO, Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. “While we put a lot of effort into creating a fun and informative event, we also want the public to understand that what we provide through the StoryBook Homes Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic is vital to the long-term health of childhood cancer survivors.”
The outdoor event was held in the courtyard of The Mercer Las Vegas, a resort lifestyle community developed by StoryBook Homes, the namesake of the long-term follow-up clinic. The owners of StoryBook Homes, Wayne & Catherine Laska, fully understand the complications that can arise after cancer treatment. Their son, Collin survived a stage 4 cancer diagnosis, but years after remission, he continues to be affected by the chemotherapy and radiation that saved his life. As a result of the Laska’s journey, and their desire to make resources available to all families, the Laska’s donated $500,000 to the long-term follow-up clinic in 2017 and have continued to support its operations.
The tea party’s featured speaker was Kirstie Ennis, a former marine, an amputee, mountain climber, Hollywood stuntwoman, veteran’s advocate and inspirational speaker. Ennis spoke to attendees of her determination to create a fulfilling life despite the hardships she has endured — a message particularly suited to childhood cancer survivors who can be faced with amputations or other major health complications.