IN APPRECIATION 
Sponsors | Friends & Volunteers| Award Recipients

A special thanks to all the people, volunteers and organizations who have continued to support Candlelighters.

Sponsors

The Candlelighters Cancer Ski Out team of Peggy Meyer, Hal Meyer, Luke Meyer, Andy Mills, and Derrick Thune put in a heroic showing at this year’s 20th annual Cancer Ski Out. After a two-day battle that rewards grace, style, technical ability and consistency over speed (good thing!), our team recorded our best ever finish, placing 5th in a field of 30 teams. Wow!!!! Even more impressive, Peggy and Hal hosted an evening of dinner and wine tasting that raised over $2,500 in support of Candlelighters and the Ski Out. Our deepest thanks go out to our team, the Meyer family and their dinner guests, and Strategic Group for its generous corporate donation.

The Ski Out and its annual contribution to Candlelighters would not be possible without the passion and commitment of Larry Chadwick, Dick Woolley, Nancy Chin, the Ski Out board, and whole host of incredible volunteers. Candlelighters would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to this incredible organization and recognize their unique contribution to the lives of our children and families.

Find out more about the Ski Out and how you can be involved at www.cancerskiout.org.

Mt Hood Snowmobile Club Offer Snow-Filled Fun for Candlelighters Families

On February 9^th, over a hundred Candlelighters family members turned out for a day of play and excitement hosted by our extraordinary friends of Mt Hood Snowmobile Club!  Each year our families enjoy an unforgettable day of sledding, snowmobile rides, games, hot chocolate, coffee & lunch.  We get the chance to reconnect with old friends, make some new ones, and create some of the best memories of the entire year!  We are so blessed by our long-time friends of Mt. Hood Snowmobile Club.  Thanks to each of you, for making a difference in so many lives!

KRUSE WAY ROTARY BRINGS SMILES & MEMORIES TO CANDLELIGHTERS FAMILIES!

On November 25^th, they did it again…pulling off one of the most talked about events of the year!  Year after year, our wonderful friends of Kruse Way Rotary Club host a spectacular holiday event at Embassy Suites Hotel for Candlelighters, offering music, dancers, singers, clowns, arts & crafts, inflatable playground, a visit & gift from Santa & Mrs. Claus, a delicious buffet, hugs with old friends & new, and memories to last a lifetime!  It is with enormous gratitude we thank the following individuals & groups for providing this unforgettable day for our Candlelighters families.

 EVERYONE at Kruse Way Rotary Club, Bank of the West, Complete Music, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., Embassy Suites Hotel, Festival Brass, Lake Oswego Academy of Dance, Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce, Lake Oswego Wind Jammers, Natalie Marmion-KATU News, Party Works, Pacific University Hawaiian Club, Reptile Man, Rose City Clowns, Royce’s Prop Shop

Harvest of Hope 2007

The 2007 Harvest of Hope held on October 6 at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel was a beautiful evening of fantastic fused glass, beautiful music by Alexx Carnathan, Ali O’day and Michael Allen Harrison, delicious wine tasting featuring several local wineries, and a wonderful celebration of Ride-For-A-Child participants and honored children and their families.  The event was a raging success raising critical funds to support Candlelighters programs and services, and to raise awareness of our mission to provide support, education and advocacy to families impacted by childhood cancer.

It truly took a village to execute the idea of having local celebrities create one-of-a-kind fused glass pieces to be auctioned at this year’s Harvest of Hope.  Conceived by event coordinator Janet Sams, celebrities from Chris Dudley, to Senator Gordon Smith, to an array of local pediatric oncologists were recruited to create pieces of unique fused glass created at Aquila Glass School over the watchful eye of instructor, Scott Curn.  Participants really embraced the idea and were generally honored to be asked to contribute to such a unique and worthwhile event.

Local “celebrities” creating fused glass pieces for the event included:

Mario Bisio, Scott Brosius, Jack Cain, Alexx Carnathan, Drew Carney, Bill Chang, MD, Jayne Dearborn, Bill Deiz, Mike Donahue, Chris Dudley, Steve Dunn, Julie Emry, Frank Etxaniz, Wayne Faligowski, Glen Foster, Lesly Foster, Jay Graves, Sheila Hamilton, Michael Allen Harrison, Tinker Hatfield, Ron Hurst, Roy Jay, Connie Jones, Kellie Nazemi, MD, Jane Kirkpatrick, Paul Linnman, Natali Marmion, Alan Mascord, Jude McGann, MD, Eneida Nemecek, MD, Michelle Nigl-Chang, John Nilsen, Kevin Norwood, MD, Ali O’Day, Janice Olson, MD, Christina Parson, Caprial & John Pense, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Helen Raptis, Dan Saltzman, Bill Schonely, Deborah Shardy, MD, Senator Gordon Smith, Tom Soma, Stephanie Stricklen, David Tilford, MD, Joe Vithayathil, Tricia Vrooman, Senator Ron Wyden, Junki Yoshida, Linda Yoshida

The evening program included beautiful music created especially for the event by local musician and philanthropist, Michael Allen Harrison.  In addition to his gift of music, Michael generously created a fused glass piece that included an inscription of the melody of the piece that he wrote entitled “Harvest of Hope”, and then graciously offered to donate a second identical piece to the two lucky and enthusiastic bidders vying for the piece during the oral auction.  Not to be outdone by Michael, an adorable canine celebrity in the form of a 6 week-old Chocolate Labrador retriever generated enthusiastic bidding ultimately finding her forever home with a loving purchaser.  And to put a face on what Candlelighters is all about was Candlelighters mom, Kim Weisenhaus, who bravely shared her family’s journey in support of Candlelighters Family Camp.   

A very special and heart-felt thank you go out to our 2007 Harvest of Hope sponsors, without whom the evening would not have been possible. 

First Tech Credit Union, A Cut Above Exteriors, Kuzman Forest Productions, Inc., LHL Homes, Inc., Mercury Development, Inc., Norlift of Oregon, Inc., Parr Lumber Company, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Standard TV & Appliance, West Coast Bank, Ashcroft Wiles Ammann, LLP, Community Financial, Macil Flye, Mark &  Nancy Hamilton, Julie Herbert, Longbottom Coffee & Tea, Randy Radcliffe & Vic Wolfe, Jill Metz & Addison Wilson, The Smith Family

Many thanks go out to Four Heathens Vineyard, LaDolce Vita Vineyards, Marquam Hill Vineyards, Oak Knoll Winery and Firesteed Cellars who provided generous tastings of their wines during the event and contributed complimentary wine during dinner.   In addition, we are grateful to the hundreds of guests attending and supporting Harvest of Hope, for their enthusiastic bidding and purchase of auction items, and for the many individuals who contributed and solicited auction items.  And last but not least, a very special thank you to the many volunteers who contributed to the success of the evening, without whom the evening would not have been possible: 

Marie Lamfrom Charitable  Foundation 

Candlelighters was recently selected to be the recipient of a $5,000 grant from the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation.  These funds will go to help support Candlelighters Family Camp, which is host to 50+ Candlelighters families held each year over Labor Day Weekend.  Family Camp is one of our most popular programs, and we are grateful to the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation for supporting a Candlelighters program that is so thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by hundreds of people each year.   Thanks so much!

 
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Friends & Volunteers

Out of this World Pizza & Play opened their doors for the very first time, exclusively to our Candlelighters families, on March 8th! Owners, staff, and volunteers nearly worked around the clock, pulling together a myriad of details, in an effort to make this an exciting event for our families-and that it was! 129 Candlelighters family members were treated to an evening of play, fun & food at this brand-new indoor play facility in Hillsboro. Kids loved the unique and educational space theme featured throughout. Both kids and parents enjoyed exploring and navigating the impressive, space-theme play structure. They enjoyed racing around on human-powered space cars, bouncing in the inflatable, and scaling the rock wall. To top it off, families enjoyed Bingo and prizes, delicious sub sandwiches, and ice cream!

Thank you so much, Jim Parker for your MANY toy and blanket deliveries to our hospitals on an on going basis as needed. And to Mary Neil for shopping for our specific toy needs and for making deliveries to our hospitals. You both are wonderful volunteers for Candlelighters and your continued giving to Candlelighters and our kids is truly invaluable!

Our heartfelt thanks goes out to Steve Zusman & Metro Metals, Inc., for so generously offering your Rose Garden suite for various events to some of our families. This was an incredible treat for these families, who were so excited for this rare opportunity! Thanks for bringing joy to families walking a difficult journey!

A whooping-huge thanks to the Harlem Globetrotters, for your generous donation of tickets to the show at the Rose Garden. Our families had such a great time at the event, taking home memories of laughter and fun! Events such as these offer our families so much hope…A MILLION THANKS!

Big thanks to Kimberlee Henderson for being host & bringing snacks on the buses for Mt. Hood Snowmobile Event! And also to Anna Potter & Shannon Winegardner for their wonderful volunteer help at the event!

We offer our warm thanks to OJ Biber and Kate Janczyk for updating our Candlelighters Info Boards at both Doernbecher and Emanuel Children’s Hospitals.

Chris Dussin & Chris Hein of The Old Spaghetti Factory; Judy Buzzini of Papa John’s Pizza-Capitol Hwy; Jeremiah Giles of Pasta Veloce; David Peacock of Noodles Restaurant; Alex Hyman & Jaime Urbina of Tazza Café. Also to our many dedicated volunteers who pour out their hearts and reach out their hands, month after month, serving our families affected by childhood cancer…Sandy Winter, Ann Laskey, Fran Hoak, Bev Zimel, Laura Darland, Inge Eriksen, Jill Renton, Julie Chandler, April Brenneman, Toni Eastwood, Pat Decker, and Mark Lambert.

Laura Darland, Cristi Bryant-Hermant, Kimberlee Henderson & Jennifer Crooks - Ongoing efforts & energy poured out to the Family Events, Activities & Ticket Program! You ladies are amazing for bringing fun to our families, all year long!

Oregon Coast Aquarium and Darlene Layton, for offering one-time complimentary aquarium passes to our Candlelighters families!

At a Regional meeting of Optimist Clubs, our Director of Development was presented with many wonderful items for our families. They included many stuffed toys, books, games, and puzzles. Also included were some handmade knitted winter hats of all shapes, sizes, and colors to protect our little heads for the next few weeks. Thanks to Marlean Stevens, the Childhood Cancer Chair for the PNWD Optimist, for gathering all these items for us.

A huge thank you to Jeanine Faszholz for her part in two wonderful donations to Candlelighters.  Jeanine, and the staff of Jackson Elementary in Hillsboro gave $375.00 to help with our free programs for our children and their families. Jeanine and the New Vision Dance Center, including Lynn Stahr, Heather Renk and Bradian Lien donated 63 blankets, 20 stuffed toys, 3 animal/blanket sets and 10 pillows. What great comfort items for our kids and teens! We need these types of gifts year-round. Your generosity is deeply appreciated!

Patty McKay of Fabric Gallery in Tualatin – For wrapping our Candlelighters children with love & warmth through the MANY fleece blanket donations! 

A warm thank you to Kate Janczyk & Oj Biber for maintaining the Candlelighters Info Boards at Emanuel & Doernbecher Children’s Hospitals.  Ladies, we truly appreciate your time & creativity!  The fact that you’re providing families the latest Candlelighters information, as well as announcements of fun events, is so very helpful & needed by many families.

Big thanks to Laura Darland, Cristi Bryant-Hermant, Kimberlee Henderson & Jennifer Crooks, for your tireless efforts poured out to the Family Events, Activities & Ticket Program!  You ladies are amazing for bringing fun to our families all year long! 

Our thanks to Bill Brewer & Re/Max Equity Group-Nimbus/Beaverton for your ongoing support of Candlelighters!

Thea Jirak, owner of Quilting Delights, Candlelighters mom, Karen Knudsen, and Quilting Delights Clients – We truly appreciate your gifts of hand-made pillowcases to offer children & teens who are battling cancer.  These will be a cheerful reprieve from dreary hospital whites!  

Oregon Coast Aquarium and Darlene Layton, for providing one-time complimentary aquarium passes for our Candlelighters families!  These memory-making outings mean so much to our families!

Thanks SO MUCH to Denise Hartung and Penny Olsson for ALL of your continued work in organizing the storage unit with our many holiday season donations as they have continued to come in to us.  This has been a daunting task and we all appreciate your hard work so very much!!! 

A long overdue thank you to Kip and Karen Veltman of Buckeroo Electric for installing a light in our storage unit.  Your generous donation of time and effort has allowed our volunteers the ability to see when organizing the unit.

We owe Gloria Uzcanga a HUGE thank you for all of her work to translate our new member packet information to Spanish for us.  This was a time consuming task and we GREATLY appreciate all of your time and talent given to Candlelighters, Gloria!  Thank you also for speaking with our new members in Spanish on the phone and in-person at our Doernbecher dinners.  Its volunteers like you who make it possible for Candlelighters to "be there" for all of our members!

Thank you so much, Jim Parker for your MANY toy and blanket deliveries to our hospitals on an ongoing basis as needed.  Your continued giving to Candlelighters and our kids is truly invaluable!

 THANKS to New Vision Dance Center for the Bedside Buddies

Thanks to Our Dinner & Luncheon Program Heroes!

Chris Dussin & Chris Hein of The Old Spaghetti Factory; Judy Buzzini of Papa John’s Pizza-Capitol Hwy; Jeremiah Giles of Pasta Veloce; Alex Hyman & Jaime Urbina of Tazza Café; Pizzicato. Also to our many dedicated volunteers who pour out their hearts and reach out their hands, month after month, serving our families affected by childhood cancer…Sandy Winter, Ann Laskey, Fran Hoak, Bev Zimel, Laura Darland, Scott & Frances Adams, Oj Biber, Inge Eriksen, Mandana Mansouri, Jill Renton, Julie Chandler, April Brenneman, and Mark Lambert.

Farmington View Elementary School's 3rd Grade Class raised $410 for gift cards for Candlelighters children by doing extra chores for family and friends.  You are the best!  Thank you Carol Digman for continuing to educate not only your class, but people you meet about Candlelighters For Children With Cancer.   We so appreciate your continuous support!

A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTERS OF CANDLELIGHTERS DINNER & LUNCHEON HOSPITAL PROGRAM!…  

Chris Dussin & Chris Hein of The Old Spaghetti Factory; Judy Buzzini of Papa John’s Pizza-Capitol Hwy; Jeremiah Giles of Pasta Veloce; Alex Hyman & Jaime Urbina of Tazza Café. Also to our many dedicated volunteers who pour out their hearts and reach out their hands, month after month, serving our families affected by childhood cancer…Sandy Winter, Ann Laskey, Fran Hoak, Bev Zimel, Randy Radcliffe, Melissa Quandt-Holden, Laura Darland, Scott & Frances Adams, Oj Biber, Inge Eriksen, Mandana Mansouri, Ramin Tabrizi, Jill Renton, Julie Chandler, April Brenneman, and Mark Lambert.

Our warmest thanks to Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division for donating 30 food boxes to help our families during the holidays!

Thanks to our awesome volunteers who braved the cold to deliver 30 food boxes to Candlelighters families!  They include: Kitty Jones, Eric Erickson & Heather,  Julie Chandler & daughter-Samantha, Chris Monty, Mandana Mansouri & son-Ramin, Cam Thompson, Bill & Nancy Brewer. 

Thanks to wonderful Kitty Jones, for driving to Corvallis to pick up a large donation of toys! 

Candlelighters would like recognize the merry group of elves, who faithfully managed toy boxes at various Bank of the West branches, Long Bottom Coffee-Hillsboro, and Re/Max Equity Group-Nimbus/Beaverton…Oj Biber, Bill & Nancy Brewer, Julie Chandler, Debbie Eaton, Inge Eriksen, Jeanine Faszholz, Casey Jarzombek-Clark, Karen Knudsen, Mandana Mansouri, Chris Monty, Linda Moreland-Hooker, Veena Pradeep, Millie & Gordon Roberts, and Cam Thompson.  Thanks to each of you for making our annual toy drive a big success!  Santa tells us you’ll all be promoted to executive elves next year! 

Our sincere thanks to Nina & Jeff McLaughlin of Panel Products for their very generous Rose Garden suite donation, providing families a wonderful evening enjoying Disney on Ice – Princess Wishes.  What a magical event this was for a group of excited Candlelighters  kids & parents! 

To Jim Cropper, Dayna Kringlen and crew for the gracious gift of featuring Candlelighters in their Dec. 2007 cable television show "Sharecropper".

Jim and Dayna, we greatly appreciated the opportunity to tell others about Candlelighters.  Jim, we are so pleased your granddaughter has enjoyed herself with her family at our special activities.  We wish her all the best. 

To Penny Olson for giving our tireless storage unit and toy box lady, Denise Hartung, so much help in organizing and labeling items in our storage unit for our kids.  It's a treat to have you "on board", Penny! And thanks again and again for ALL YOU do for Candlelighters, Denise! 

To Gloria Uzcanga for her hard work in translating Candlelighters information for our Spanish speaking families and for supporting our Spanish speaking families in-person at our Doernbecher dinners!  Wow! What a blessing, Gloria. 

To Melissa Quandt-Holden for many volunteer hours helping with dinners and so many activities associated with Candlelighters, especially Ride-For-A-Child and Toy boxes this past holiday season. 

To Shelli Volpigno for "above and beyond" gifts of her time and talent in support of Candlelighters.  You are great at finding many different volunteers to add to our need for toys, pillowcases and ALL. 

To Sue Sumpter for her amazing knowledge and support of so many of our families, especially for our families affected by the leukemia associated diagnoses.  YOU are a treasure, Sue! 

To Jenny Lambert for her many hours spent for Candlelighters in so many capacities.  We cherish and appreciate ALL YOU do, Jenny! 

Thank you all from Outreach, Ann Laskey

To Kathy Lee of Portland, thank you SO MUCH for you generosity in sewing and donating SO MANY "Nana bags" - (flax seed filled bags) to heat in the microwave to ease sore spots for our children, teens and parents!  They are a real hit with our families, Kathy!

Thank you to Jennifer Haynes and Lisa Doak for their generous donation of Beanie Babies.  These are wonderful for our Bedside Buddies.

Thank you Shellee Baidenmann, Bobbie Rodriquez, and Nadine Zimmerlund for your ongoing donation of hand-sewn pillowcases.  They are very comforting for our children in the hospital.

ng our Activities & Events Program, Cristi!

Jennifer Crooks – A past volunteer for Candlelighters, Jennifer has stepped up again as a Ticket Coordinator, offering to secure tickets to wonderful events for our families.  She has made it possible for families to attend Stomp, Dew Tour, and more!  Thanks so much Jennifer! 

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