Summer Executive Director Dish
August. Ahhhh… I love August. There are so many things I love about this month. School is approaching, which means the Fortnite screaming will come to a screeching halt, AND I love being on a schedule and at home. It’s time. My kids thrive on a schedule and we are all better people with bedtimes and alarms. Also, vacations are coming to a close, which is a good thing for us here at ISF. We try to stay motivated all year long, but emails we send tend to sit in an inbox during the months of June and July and usually around mid-August, and then begin to get returned to us much faster and the response time shortens. We love that. ☺
For those of you who have been with us for a while now, you know our fall is the shizzle. We do everything we can to make our flagship event bigger and better each year … with intention. I personally love the our 5K/10K race more than any event we do because it is where it all started, which was with Isabella. I remember how excited she was as the event was approaching. In Isabella style, she would always seem to relapse in August, which meant year after year, our volunteers, friends and loved ones would step up and put on an event to remember for her. Some years she could run it with hair that could barely be pulled back into pig tails and some years she was pulled in a red wagon, chubby from the steroids of a recent brain relapse. What I loved year after year was seeing the people who made this foundation what it is today. I know everyone gets busy and it’s hard to stay involved with us year-round. But the race was different. People put it on their calendars, they brought new people each year who would say, “Holy crap? This isn’t a race… this is festival!” and then those people would come every year after. I also love seeing the new people who didn’t know her or me and are just blown away by what we do. It all just gives me goose bumps to know it’s coming up… and it’s coming soon.
So, what can you expect this year? Look, I’m not just going to say it’s amazing because I’m the Executive Director. But it’s going to be amazing. What you will see this year is an added component that we should have done YEARS AGO! BRUNCH. And we are not talking about eggs and bacon. We are talking about a no joke kind of brunch. We have teamed up with Firebirds, Tito’s Vodka and Noda Brewing Company to give you a brunch
- Chicken and Waffle Sandwiches with honey hot sauce
- Smoked Pork and scrambled egg tacos with jack cheese and avocado pico
- Beignets
- Shrimp and Grits with Tasso Gravy
- Muffuletta Sandwiches
- Fried Green Tomatoes with Country ham, Goat Cheese & Pepper Jelly
- Biscuit Avocado Toast with a Poached Egg
- Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit
- Kid’s Pancake & Doughnut Stations
Not to mention, a whole host of brunch drinks provided by Tito’s and Noda Brewing. Bloody Mary’s anyone?
So, for those of you who kick out the 5k/10k and try to fill your belly with Chick-Fil-A like you have in years past, you can still do that. and much more. Now, you have the opportunity to REALLY FILL THAT BELLY, and for those of you who don’t want to walk or run, you can just buy the brunch and chill, while your kids play in the Kids Zone and you bid on auction items. Yeah, it’s going to be the shizzle as we say. But you will need a brunch wristband, so you betta get one.
Be warned. Tickets for the brunch are going to be more expensive on the day of, so don’t let the smells of the morning be the trigger. Get on it now. Register for the race, buy the brunch. Be there. This is going to be our best one yet. Thank you to our title sponsor Red Ventures and BRUNCH sponsors who are helping us make this year epic. Go to 5kforkidscancer.com for all the details.
And of course, none of this can happen without your support, so reach out to us! Volunteer, help with the auction, buy something for us on #WishWednesday, create a team of runners, fundraise on our behalf, spread the word, bring your whole neighborhood, sponsor the race. Just do something. My team of women are working to the bone to blow you all away and sometimes just a little help from your friends goes a long way and motivates us even more.
We can’t wait to see you all on September 28th. You’ll find me in the brunch zone with a drink in hand – I mean… it all goes to charity, right?
Thanks for the support over all these years!
Erin Santos, Isabella’s Mommy
#WishWednesday
#WishWednesday is back! Two of our biggest events are coming up and we pride ourselves in creating the best auctions in the city for both our September 5K/10K event and our October Pumpkin Charity Ball. 2 events… that’s a heck of a lot of stuff. Our ISF Auction Committee is hard at work, and we can’t make this happen without your generous support.
Participating in #WishWednesday is an easy way to give back quickly from your computer or taking your child shopping to pick out items to donate. We count on our supporters every year to help us create amazing packages. Every #WishWednesday we will focus on a specific type of item that you can shop easily from our Amazon Wish List. If you prefer to go to Target or another store, you can mail it to us at the below address. Or just want to send an Amazon Gift Card, we are appreciative of it all! SHOP FOR ISF
MAIL TO:
Attn: Erica Stawick
Isabella Santos Foundation
9935-D Rea Road #275
Charlotte, NC 28277
JULY 24 #WISHWEDNESDAY: Amazon Gift Cards! These are great to help us hand pick specific items to create amazing packages!
JULY 31 #WISHWEDENESDAY: All things LEGOS. Marvel Superheroes, Disney Princess, Friends and Toy Story. Pick out a Lego favorite.
AUGUST 7 #
AUGUST 14 #WISHWEDNESDAY: All things MUSIC! Whether you listen to country or pop, rap or rock, we need your help! We are asking for some of our favorite music accessories: Beats, AirPods, iTunes/Apple music gift cards, bluetooth speakers, you name it! Share with us your favorite way to rock or dance it out! 🎧
Making A Connection At Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital (HealthCare Design Magazine)
Originally published in HealthCare Design Magazine
Young patients undergoing metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) treatment for neuroblastoma, a rare and deadly cancer that affects about 750 children a year, face long periods of isolation as the treatment makes patients’ bodily fluids radioactive, meaning caregivers and parents can spend only five minute per day in their room. Additionally, the treatment requires specialized rooms that need to be lined with 1 inch of lead brick shielding around all four walls and at the floor level.
Because not every facility has the budget or space to accommodate the specialized design, many families are forced to travel away from home to find a treatment facility—a reality faced by the Santos family when their daughter Isabella was diagnosed with the disease at age 2. She endured five relapses with the disease before she passed away at age 7 in 2012. Following her death, the family created the Isabella Santos Foundation and donated $1 million to Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, N.C., to build the city’s first MIGB therapy suite.
Working with Little (Charlotte), the hospital decided to turn two side-by-side patient rooms on the 11th floor pediatric oncology unit into a 244-square-foot MIBG room and a 250-square-foot parent room. A nearby storage room was converted into the Hot Lab, where the treatment is prepared. “Proximity to the Hot Lab reduces travel time to the patient and the risk of radiation exposure to others,” says Roger Wilkerson, healthcare practice leader at Little.
To address the isolation of the treatment as well as the need to provide constant patient monitoring, a lead-line window and door were added between the rooms to visibly and physically connect the two spaces, with all access to the patient room coming through the parent room. “It allows the parent to see the child when they cannot physically be in the room,” Wilkerson says. Additionally, the rooms are connected by an AV system, which allows caregivers to see, talk, and play games with the child.
Creative Fundraising + Team Building
[Creative Fundraising + Team Building = $7,000] In July Red Ventures held an employee charity cornhole fundraising event benefiting the Isabella Santos Foundation. We had so much fun spending the afternoon watching the last 2 teams battle it out in the championship round. In addition, teams competed to be top fundraisers and a total of over $7,000 was raised for pediatric cancer during a regularly scheduled workday!
Thank you to James, Red Ventures Chief Technology Officer, for encouraging his Tech Team to participate and coming in as the winning fundraising team raising $1,100 during the day. On their heels was the very enthusiastic Recruiting Team coming in 2nd.
Red Ventures believes in empowering employees to be the authors of their company story. Their community involvement program is 100% employee-driven in supporting the causes that their employees are most passionate about. What a fun and creative fundraising idea, thank you to Jacob Virgil, a member of the ISF Board of Directors and Senior Associate at Red Ventures, for bringing the Red Ventures community together to help bring change for kids fighting cancer!
We are so excited to have Red Ventures as the presenting sponsor for our 12th Annual 5k,10k & Fun Run for Kids Cancer on Sept 28. You don’t want to miss this year with our NEW brunch experience! Get registered but don’t forget to add on brunch: 5kforkidscancer.com
