Shining a Spotlight on Joedance Film Festival

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Joedance Film Festival is held in memory of Joe

What started as a neighborhood outdoor movie night has evolved into a successful Charlotte film festival to raise funds for pediatric cancer research.

Joedance Film Festival is held the first weekend in August in Charlotte. This year marked the 9th annual festival and a major milestone for growth. Originally held in a townhome courtyard in Uptown Charlotte, Joedance recently expanded to the Charlotte Ballet Center of Dance. Several hundred people gathered for this year’s event, which screened 13 short films by film directors, writers and producers who have a Charlotte connection.

“This was the first year it was at the Charlotte Ballet Center for Dance and it was fabulous,” said Diane, Joe’s mom and founding president of Joedance Film Festival. “Changing venues was good for the festival. It felt like we grew up!”

The two-day film festival is held in memory of Joe who passed away at age 20 from bone cancer in 2010. Funds raised support rare pediatric cancer research and clinical trials at Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital. Many of the things that Joedance funds came from discussions that Joe’s family had with him before he passed away.

“As a family, we had time to deal with Joe’s cancer,” said Diane, Joe’s mom and founding president of Joedance Film Festival. “He was of an age to understand what was going on and wanted us to continue to raise funds for Levine Children’s Hospital. For him to make a list of what he wanted us to do gave us a clear path.”

The Charlotte Ballet Center of Dance is now home to Joedance Film Festival

In fulfilling Joe’s wishes, the organization established a paid summer internship program at Levine Children’s Hospital for college students in the medical field. It also funds the recurrent bone cancer trial at Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital and the Isabella Santos Foundation. It has also committed to fund first-line research technicians at Levine Children’s Hospital’s pediatric cancer research lab, which will open in 2019. For the past six years, Joedance coordinates Modern Salon & Spa to do a spa day every other month for the parents at Levine Children’s Hospital. To date, Joedance has donated over $150,000 to Levine Children’s Hospital.

Joedance is also the beneficiary of the Premier Property Solutions Panthers Tailgate Party. The next one will take place on Sunday, November 4 at 1341 S. Mint Street. If you’re in the area, stop by and support Joedance while cheering on our Carolina Panthers.

Levine Children’s Hospital Receives $100,000 Check from Isabella Santos Foundation

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The ISF team gets decked out in costumes to kick off October and to present another $100,000 check to Levine Children’s Hospital

The Isabella Santos Foundation helped Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital kick off October by getting decked out in Halloween costumes and by presenting another $100,000 check to the hospital.

The Isabella Santos Foundation’s $1 million commitment to Levine Children’s Hospital started with MIBG therapy and grew to the vision of building the ISF Rare & Solid Tumor Program at the hospital. The program will oversee care for all solid tumors, rare tumors, MIBG therapy and all related clinical and scientific research at the hospital.

“As we get closer to the opening of the Isabella Santos Foundation MIBG Therapy Suite at Levine Children’s Hospital, the impact of our donations is getting real,” said Erin Santos, Executive Director and President of the Isabella Santos Foundation. “We value our partnership with Levine Children’s Hospital and appreciate our incredible supporters for making this donation possible. It’s very rewarding to know we are making a huge difference for kids with cancer in our surrounding communities.”

About Atrium Health
Atrium Health, previously Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the nation’s leading and most innovative healthcare organizations, provides a full spectrum of healthcare and wellness programs throughout the Southeast region. Its diverse network of care locations includes academic medical centers, hospitals, freestanding emergency departments, physician practices, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, nursing homes and behavioral health centers, as well as hospice and palliative care services. Atrium Health works to enhance the overall health and well-being of its communities through high-quality patient care, education and research programs, and numerous collaborative partnerships and initiatives.

About Isabella Santos Foundation

The Isabella Santos Foundation (ISF) is a 501(c)3 childhood cancer foundation dedicated to raising funds for research for neuroblastoma, other rare pediatric cancers, and charities that directly impact the lives of children with cancer. ISF was founded in honor of Isabella Santos from Charlotte, N.C. who lost her battle against neuroblastoma. ISF works to improve rare pediatric cancer treatment options in an effort to improve the survival rate of kids with cancer. For more information, visit www.isabellasantosfoundation.org  or follow ISF on Facebook (www.facebook.com/IsabellaSantosFoundation), Instagram (www.instagram.com/theisfoundation) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/TheISFoundation).

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Run Dream Team Run

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Look at these ISF Dream Team members who ran the annual Isabella Santos Foundation 10K and received an AWARD! Congratulations not only to these individuals but the whole team. All of you are such an inspiration! You train. You show up. You run. You inspire. You fundraise. You win. Cheers to you! We are grateful for your hard work and dedication to ISF, Isabella and kids fighting cancer.

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  • Overall 10K Male:  1st PLACE Brian Levy 38:54
  • Overall 10K Female:  3rd PLACE Danielle Volman 49:19
  • Male 10K Age 1-14:  1st PLACE Jackson Lowry 54:30
  • Female 10K Age 1-14:  1st PLACE Addison Ficker 1:10:34
  • Male 10K Age 60-69:  3rd PLACE Tim McBride 1:01:43

SF Dream Team

The ISF Dream Team, created in 2014, is a running group that assists you in training to run the race of your dreams.  You can train for a 5k, 10k, half marathon, half marathon relay, full marathon relay, or a full marathon.  You are provided a training schedule, invited to group runs, and inspired by a phenomenal team of people.  Not only will you meet a dynamic group of people, but you will also be inspired through your friends and family as they support you through the training.  The ISF Dream Team has raised over $400,000 to date, with the funds contributing to our local Charlotte community.  If you want to join the ISF Dream Team, we would love to hear from you.  Please email us at info@isabellasantosfoundation.org.