On Thursday, April 24^th, Corianne Blotevogel was named the winner of the 2^nd Annual Isabella Santos Award at the Ronald McDonald House “Girls Night Out Event” held at The Fillmore in Charlotte, NC. This special recognition is awarded to someone that shows compassion towards others and takes the initiative to be a leader and take action within their community. Corianne was selected among many incredible nominees because she embodies the things that Isabella dreamed about and wished for. She desires a world without cancer and to make a difference. She does incredible things for friends, family, causes close to heart and complete strangers. She works full time and still finds the time to do so many thoughtful things to help others. She has been described as a superhero disguised as an angel and through personal hardships, physical hardships and loss, she has tremendous strength and an incredibly positive attitude towards life. Her motto: “it’s not about forcing happiness, it’s about not letting the sadness win.”  Corianne is always looking for fun and creative ways to fundraise for various organizations and we are honored that ISF has been one of them. Some of the many groups that she has supported in addition to The Isabella Santos Foundation are Big Brothers and Big Sisters, The American Cancer Society, Community Blood Center of the Carolinas, Headbands of Hope, St Baldricks, Coltrane Life Center, JDRF, Second Harvest Food Bank, Locks of Love and countless other Random Acts of Kindness that play out in her life on a daily basis. Corianne is the real deal and wants to make a difference for those struggling to win life’s many battles. Isabella would have loved Corianne and the many things she does to inspire and help others. For these reasons, among many- we are honored and proud to present her with this very special award!

In addition, we also want to recognize two incredible women that were not only nominated but truly epitomize the meaning of The Isabella Santos award. These two women exemplify strength, courage, determination in the highest regard and deserve their own special recognition. Both of them have inspired countless others along each of their journeys and have left a lasting imprint on so many, forever.  The Isabella Santos Foundation is proud to honor both Jen Pangani (October 28, 1969 – February 2, 2014) and Paula Takacs (Feb. 14, 1974-April 13, 2014) as nominees and honorary award winners. Both of these women fought cancer with incredible passion and fearless bravery.  Both Jen and Paula will be deeply missed and we know that their legacies will live on in the hearts and actions of so many for years to come.

We would like to acknowledge each of the nominees that were sent in. To be nominated is certainly an honor and we feel that each of these individuals should be recognized. This year, the decision was very hard, as so many amazing individuals are impacting their community. Thank you for sending in your nominations for an award that we value so much! 2014 Nominees were;  Amanda Assell, Corianne Blotevogel, Robin Emmons, Courtney Hurd, Jen Pangani, Tom Patania, Chelsey Rains and Paula Takacs.

On behalf of the entire Isabella Santos Foundation team, we would like to thank each of the nominees for all that you do to strengthen your community and to help others along the way. In addition, we want to thank all of the special people who took the time to send in these nominations. We are honored, humbled and privileged to have each of these amazing women associated with Isabella’s legacy.

Erin and Corianne