Two events planned for families of sick children

Most Tucsonans are gearing up for the holidays, but for families of children with serious illnesses, this can be an especially difficult time of year.

Students from the Pima Community College Social Services Program Community Organization Class are holding a holiday party to help brighten the holidays for children with cancer and their families.

“This is a wonderful cause. Several people in our class are survivors of childhood cancer and everyone realizes how hard things must be during the holiday season for these kids and their families. ... This is a chance for people to make the holidays brighter,” said Jared Shumway, co-chair of the event with Analiese Badilla.

The PCC students have partnered with Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Arizona for Cancer on Holiday, an annual celebration that provides a gift for each child and any siblings during an afternoon of entertainment for the families. Each child submits a wish for a holiday gift. (See box.)

Candlelighters, which has been serving Tucson for 30 years, has received more than 200 wishes this year.

Program director Beverley Tidwell said partnerships such as those with the PCC students are “lifesaving” for the parent-run nonprofit.

“The party has grown tremendously over the years, and when these students said they would do the event, I said, ‘This is my salvation this December.’ These young people are so energized and have fabulous ideas, and I am so happy to see them take the ball and run with it,” she said.

Tidwell emphasized that Cancer on Holiday is often the primary holiday celebration for participating families since many experience financial distress due to medical bills incurred during the course of treatment, which on average spans more than two years.

“There are families looking for shoes, clothes and pajamas. For a lot of the families, we are fulfilling an essential wish or a necessary need for the child,” she said.

Shumway and his classmates hope to supplement essential wishes with giveaways and activities at the party; surplus funds, gift cards or other items will be donated to the nonprofit or other charities designated by the students.

Community Organization Class collaborations with nonprofits have continually expanded since its inception six years ago, according to instructor Rosa Morales.

Past beneficiaries include the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, Old Pueblo Community Services, churches and events to assist homeless people, refugees, veterans and previously incarcerated individuals.

The class curriculum requires students to produce each event in four weeks and seeks to provide students with hands-on training in all aspects of fundraising and event planning.

Morales said the students and their nonprofit partners are often amazed by all they accomplish in the short time.

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“They create something out of nothing and are out there making a difference, which is what social work is all about. They are surprised about how their group efforts can be so powerful,” Morales said.

Overall, she said, each event helps to bolster ethical and moral responsibility while building important relationships between students and nonprofits, individuals in need of resources and volunteers that students recruit.

“The number one thing that provides happiness for people is to be able to help others, and we provide an avenue for people to do that,” Morales said.

McDonald House benefit

Another opportunity to assist seriously ill children and their families is the Walk for Kids to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona on Dec. 6 at the University of Arizona Mall.

“One of the neat things about this event is that it is all about families.

“We have great participation from Ronald McDonald House families who join the more than 1,300 participants and spend the morning with us to enjoy time together during the holidays,” said Anne Rounds, chief development officer of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona.

Rounds said emphasis on family togetherness is evident at the 28-bedroom house that serves about 400 families annually who travel to Tucson seeking medical care for children up to age 21.

The house provides accommodations that range in length of stay from one night to as long as necessary for families while children undergo hospitalization or outpatient treatments.

It is not uncommon for families to stay four to six months.

Rounds said that year-round, the Ronald McDonald House seeks to provide a “home away from home” for families; the holidays are celebrated with decorations and gifts, so donations of new, unwrapped toys and gift cards are high on the wish list.

“We provide Christmas gifts for families that are gender-specific and age-specific, and that is ongoing beginning the second week in December,” she said.

“For the majority of families staying with us, holiday gifts are an afterthought.

“They don’t have the time or finances to deal with them when a child is seriously ill, so we try to bring a little holiday cheer at a very difficult time.”