As the new Executive Director for Candlelighters For Children With Cancer, I am excited to share my reflections. So much has happened since I began my role last September. I have had an opportunity to meet many families at our various events, visit with our social worker teams at Doernebecher and Randall Children’s Hospitals, collaborate with valued partners such as Thursday Night Motocross to help with fundraising, and interact with our dedicated board members on fulfilling our organization’s current needs and plan for our future.

As I was driving to work, an unexpected, incredible fundraising opportunity happened out of the blue one November morning. I received a call from Tice Electric Company, a Portland-based company that works across the state of Oregon. A long standing tradition for Tice Electric is to nominate one employee to pick an organization that they would like to fundraise for. In 2024, Candlelighters For Children With Cancer was chosen because the Tice Electric employee’s wife used to volunteer at Doernbecher and remembered our weekly snack cart! We had many Tice Electric employees generously donate. Donations were then matched by the CEO and we ended up generating a total of $7176.50! Needless to say, this was a wonderful way to end the year! For me, it shows how the community at large values the support we give to our families as they navigate pediatric cancer.

We have so many wonderful plans for the coming months – from family events to engaging fundraisers. Be on the lookout for our quarterly newsletters and stay in touch. If you ever have an idea for Candlelighters or would like to connect in person, please reach out to me directly.