Friends Storybook Gala to Celebrate 23rd Year

SEPT/OCT 2015
F R O M C O N N E C T I C U T C H I L D R E N ’ S M E D I C A L C E N T E R F O U N D AT I O N
Inside this Issue
Get Your Kidscard!.................... 2
With Guest Author Cal Ripken, Jr., . . .
Friends Storybook Gala to Celebrate 23rd Year
retired from baseball in October 2001
after 21 seasons with the Baltimore
Orioles, was inducted into the National
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 and is the
founder and CEO of Ripken Baseball, Inc.
Iced Coffee Day Sales Soar......... 2
Allied Golf Tourney Shares
Support...................................... 2
Eversource Marathon Nears....... 3
Running for Piper....................... 3
vie for the Kids........................... 4
Be a Partner in Caring................ 4
We hope you enjoy Partners in
Caring, a bimonthly publication
of Connecticut Children’s
Medical Center Foundation,
prepared especially for
friends and patient families of
Connecticut Children’s. Read
on to learn more about the
many programs and services the
hospital provides and about our
generous friends and donors who
help make it happen.
F
all is just around the corner and so
is the 2015 Friends Storybook Gala!
Now in its 23rd year, the signature
fundraising event for Connecticut
Children’s Medical Center will be held
Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Connecticut
Convention Center in Hartford.
GALA GUEST SPEAKER
This year, the Friends
welcome baseball legend
and best-selling author Cal
Ripken, Jr., as the featured
guest speaker. Ripken is the
author of nearly 30 books,
including his autobiography, The Only
Way I Know, and children’s books, The
Longest Season and Hothead.
Baseball’s all-time “Iron Man,” who
His special guest appearance, along with
a cocktail reception, dinner, dancing
and unique live and silent auctions, will
highlight the evening festivities.
GALA PROCEEDS
Proceeds from the Storybook Gala help
fulfill Connecticut Children’s mission
by funding state-of-the-art equipment
and innovative programs that benefit
patients, family and staff.
This year, gifts to the Gala’s spotlight
program, Bid4Kidz, will benefit the
Orthopaedics Program at Connecticut
Children’s. Proceeds from the Bid4Kidz
auction will support the Division’s
Orthopaedic Surgery Research and
Technology Fund.
For more information or to register, please
visit www.connecticutchildrensfoundation.
org/storybookgala.
Radiothon Raises $119,683 for Connecticut Children’s
Why I Run…Page 3
Broadcasting live from the One World Café on Aug. 13th, Connoisseur Media and Connecticut
Children’s presented the 2015 Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Radiothon, raising
$119,683 to benefit children’s care. Hosted by Chaz and AJ from the morning show on 102.9
The Whale, and by Brad Davis from The Talk of Connecticut, the broadcast ran from 5:30 a.m.
to 7 p.m. and featured inspiring patient stories that reflect the incredible work accomplished at
Connecticut Children’s each day. Pictured here with Martin Gavin (center), President and CEO
of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, are Pam, AJ, Chaz and Phil.
Great Deals and a Great Cause . . .
Support Connecticut Children’s with a 2015 Kidscard
O
ver the past nine years, the
annual Kidscard fundraiser has
raised more than $280,000 for
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
face the life-long challenges of Crohn’s
disease and ulcerative colitis.
GAINING IN POPULARITY
Kidscard has gained popularity in recent
years, thanks to valued partnerships with
local media, including The Hartford
Courant, Hartford Magazine, and
the River 105.9. This year, Kidscard
is honored to be part of the NBC-30
“Partners in the Caring Community”
initiative.
This year, the $50 dining and discount
card offers unlimited 20 percent savings
at more than 70 stores and restaurants
in West Hartford Center from Oct. 22 to
Oct. 31.
Originating in 2006, Kidscard was
Zeligson’s solution for an event that
not only raised funds for Connecticut
Children’s, but also supported local
businesses in the process while allowing
the community to donate to the Medical
Center.
Cardholders receive an incredible bargain
shopping at their favorite stores, while 100
percent of the proceeds from the Kidscard
purchase price is donated directly to
Connecticut Children’s.
Zeligson, a local West Hartford business
owner herself, understood the initial
hesitation of businesses to partake the first
few years. However, in recent years, the
dynamic has changed.
Zeligson
credits
Kidscard’s
success to
“everyone’s
contributions.”
SUPPORTING & GIVING BACK
According to Lauren Zeligson,
Connecticut Children’s board member
and founder of Kidscard, the 2015
beneficiary of Kidscard is Connecticut
Children’s Division of Digestive Diseases,
Hepatology & Nutrition. The Division
cares for patients living with a wide range
of digestive disorders, including those who
“The committee has gone from convincing
stores to participate to businesses asking
to be in Kidscard,” said Zeligson. “Stores
recognize that this is an important event to
be a part of.”
“We have a large group of people who
have generously given time and dollars
to make a difference,” Zeligson said. “I
couldn’t think of a more worthy cause.”
The committee is hoping to double its
sales in Kidscards and surpass $300,000
donated by the end of this year’s
fundraiser.
Iced Coffee Day Generates
$55,000 for Connecticut Children’s
2.
By Sydney Ellis
Dunkin’ Donuts celebrated Iced Coffee Day in May, setting
aside $1 from every Iced Coffee sold at participating
Connecticut franchises for two Connecticut children’s hospitals.
The one-day event raised $110,000, which was divided between
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Yale-New Haven
Children’s Hospital. On July 7, Dunkin’ Donuts and local
Connecticut franchisees (pictured here) presented a check in
the amount of $55,000 to Connecticut Children’s. On hand
for the presentation were Martin Gavin, President and CEO
of Connecticut Children’s (second from left); Ann Taylor, EVP,
Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel (far left);
and Scott Fanning, Connecticut Children’s board member and
franchise owner (far right).
The 2015 Kidscard may be
purchased online at www.
connecticutchildrensfoundation.org or at
in-store locations.
Allied Golf Tournament
Donation Benefits Care
Allied Printing Services
Charitable Foundation
of Manchester
raised $20,000 for
Connecticut Children’s
Medical Center at its
Annual Memorial
Golf Tournament in
June. Proceeds from
the golf tournament,
established in 2008,
are donated in
equal measure to
Connecticut Children’s
and several other
organizations that
make a difference
in the lives of their
communities, including
Cushing Academy,
Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, and the Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center. In more than eight years of giving,
Allied has supported Connecticut Children’s with $168,000
in donations. John Sommers, Jr., president of Allied Printing
Services (pictured here), presented a gift basket to Aliana
Fichera of Rocky Hill, a patient of Connecticut Children’s who
shared her care journey with guests during the evening reception
June 12th.
Why I Run . . .
“Half-Marathon Mom” Shares Inspiration for Running
By Sydney Ellis
T
he Eversource Hartford
Marathon is taking place this year
on October 10th, and Rhonda
Lord will be ready to run.
Runners, who have dedicated countless
amounts of time and effort, come from
all over the United States to race in this
event. Some run for the competition,
or for the sense of accomplishment and
feeling of a job well done, but Rhonda
runs for a different reason.
Since 2012, Rhonda – a nurse, wife, and
mother of five – has been lining up on
the Hartford Marathon starting line for
her daughter, Piper.
BATTLING CROHN’S
Piper, now 11, has severe Crohn’s
disease, a chronic inflammatory
bowel disease that can affect the entire
gastrointestinal (digestive) tract. It is a
life-long disease that has no cure.
When Piper was first diagnosed, the initial
medication dramatically improved her
condition. “We started to have our Piper
back,” said Rhonda. However, Piper’s
struggle to find a medication that works
long term and causes minimal side effects
has been a battle for the Lord family.
“Piper has adjusted to it, but it’s rough,”
Rhonda says about Piper’s everyday life
with Crohn’s. “I don’t know how much
pain she’s in. It’s hard for her to be a
normal kid.”
“Although there are great medications
to treat the disease, the disease is
associated with recurrent flares despite
treatment, and sometime surgeries are
required to manage the disease and its
complications,” said Wael Sayej, MD,
Piper’s gastroenterologist at Connecticut
Children’s Medical Center.
Team Connecticut
Children’s Gears Up
for Annual Marathon
By Sydney Ellis
Pausing for a photo at a Team Challenge
event in July are Piper and her mother,
Rhonda Lord (center), flanked by Lori
Czajkowski and Wael Sayej, MD,
a gastroenterologist at Connecticut
Children’s and Piper’s doctor.
She always wants to be informed of the
plans and be involved in the decision.”
SUPPORTING THE CAUSE
Rhonda and Piper both attend support
groups for Crohn’s and Inflammatory
Bowel Disease (IBD). “Someone else
has had to struggle and make the same
decisions,” Rhonda said. “That’s why
reaching out is so important; it helps
others to let them know they’re not
alone.”
Piper is an Honored Hero of Team
Challenge, a fundraising and endurance
training program that benefits the
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of
America. Piper speaks in front of
audiences at Team Challenge meetings,
inspiring the members with her story and
relating to others with her condition. “If I
can help one person not go through what
I had to, it’s worth it,” she says.
Rhonda said she runs the Hartford
Marathon as a part of Team Connecticut
Children’s because it is something she
can do to help to raise awareness about
– and ultimately cure – Crohn’s disease.
STAYING INFORMED
As a frequent patient in the Division
of Digestive Diseases, Hepatology and
Nutrition at Connecticut Children’s, Piper
is well informed and fully involved in her
own care. “It’s good she knows what’s
going on and is active in conversations
with her doctor,” Rhonda says.
“I know of at least two or three parents
of our patients who are planning on
running in the Hartford half or full
marathon this year,” said Dr. Sayej, who
is an avid runner himself and will be
among those participating this year to
support and raise money for Connecticut
Children’s and the IBD center.
“Piper is a very brave young girl,” said
Dr. Sayej, who has known her since
diagnosing her condition in 2012. “She
always has a positive attitude, even when
she is going through the toughest times.
Knowing that Rhonda runs for her,
Piper expresses her appreciation. “It
feels good — but she doesn’t run it only
for me, she runs it for other people too,
which makes it even better.”
You can help kids one step at a time
while supporting Connecticut Children’s
Medical Center by running in or donating
to the Eversource Hartford Marathon
to be held on Saturday, October 10, at
Bushnell Park.
Connecticut Children’s is one of the
official charities of the Eversource
Hartford Marathon, and Team
Connecticut Children’s is now accepting
donations towards its fundraising goal of
$50,000.
ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY
The 22nd annual event engages the
community, supports local businesses,
and draws in premier athletes from every
town in Connecticut and all over the
United States. The 2015 marathon’s title
sponsor is Eversource Energy, which is
helping to positively impact the races
under the Marathon’s umbrella and the
greater Hartford community.
The Hartford Marathon breaks
participant records annually and works
extensively to innovate and revamp the
race every year. This year’s event includes
a number of expos, live entertainment
throughout the course, and individualized
QR codes for each runner, so that
spectators and athletes can immediately
track their progress and results.
As many as 17,000 runners and 60,000
spectators, volunteers and community
members are expected to attend the
Eversource Hartford Marathon when it
gets underway at 8 am.
HELPING THE TEAM
Team Connecticut Children’s welcomes
runners and walkers at any level, from
the recreational runner to the experienced
marathoner. Events include the marathon,
half marathon, 5K and relay. Registration
for Team Connecticut Children’s closes
on Sept. 4, but donations will continue to
be accepted.
To learn more, please visit our website
at www.connecticutchildrensfoundation.
org/TeamConnecticutChildrens.
3.
NONPROFIT
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
HARTFORD, CT
PERMIT NO. 3745
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
282 Washington Street
Hartford, CT 06106
A Proud Member . . .
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is a proud member of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals helps to raise funds and awareness for 170 children’s hospitals
across North America, helping more than 17 million kids each year. Funds raised through this
organization stay in the local community in which they are given. For more information,
please visit www.cmnhospitals.org.
vie for the Kids 6K Trail Run/Walk Oct. 3
Walkers and runners of all skill levels will once again “vie for the Kids” this fall at the
Ethel Walker School in Simsbury. Slated for Saturday, Oct. 3, vie for the Kids is the
single largest fundraising effort for Connecticut Children’s Medical Center’s Clinical
Trials Program for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Following the event – which takes
participants through the pristine and protected jewel of the Simsbury Land Trust – a
Celebrity Chef Dinner will be held that evening at Millwright’s in Simsbury. To learn
more or to register, visit www.vieforthekids.com.
NEWSLETTER
Sharon Napolitano, Senior Editor
CONTRIBUTORS: Sydney Ellis, Contributing Writer
Ed Jalinskas, Creative Services
Be a Partner in Caring
Your gift, large or small,
MAKE
makes a difference in the
A GIFT
lives of children. Donations
towards equipment,
TODAY!
technology, research,
people and programs bring hope and
health to those who entrust their care
to Connecticut Children’s. Won’t you
please consider making a tax-deductible
donation today? Your generosity helps
us provide our region’s children with the
best care possible – each and every day.
To learn more, please contact the
Foundation at 860.837.5700,
or visit our website at
www.connecticutchildrensfoundation.org.
Partners in Caring is a bimonthly publication of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Foundation, highlighting the
programs and services of Connecticut Children’s. To be added to or removed from our mailing list, please contact
[email protected].
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