A heart would have to be made of stone if it didn't melt to see the smiles on the faces of these children fighting cancer. Cancer is hard enough to go through as an adult. Any adult with a child facing this disease would trade places with them in a heartbeat, if they could. It's no wonder this event is not a normal fashion show, but an important event, bringing out as many men as women to raise money for such a worthy cause.
The 9th Annual Bright House Networks Fashion Funds the Cure
Presented by Neiman Marcus and Mercedes-Benz,
to raise money for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation
Hosted by Celebrity stylist-TV personality Carson Kressley
2223 N. Westshore Blvd. Tampa, FL 33607
Phone: 813-877-5700 or 800-388-5646
Event hours: 6-9 pm, Wednesday, February 19th, 2012
Admission to the show is $100, which provides guests with a full evening of wining and dining. Patron tickets are also available for $250 and include recognition in the event program.
The 2011 event last year raised over $500,000 for pediatric cancer research. Click on the slide show attached to this article to see some great pictures from the event last year.
On February 29th, Neiman Marcus will close the store in International Plaza early to hold this fashion show from 6 to 9 pm. Celebrity stylist Carson Kressley will host the show. Jen Holloway from Brighthouse Networks will also be back.
Suite Caroline will be opening the show, the 14-year-old singer, Sony/ATV recording artist from Clearwater, who now resides in Nashville.
Local celebrities, current and former players from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Lightning, walk down the runway escorting children currently fighting cancer, as well as children now in remission, and no longer in treatment. The store will have a private evening of shopping, dining and this exclusive fashion show, premiering the hottest styles of spring, worn by these inspiring young models.
The Pediatric Cancer Foundation is thrilled to welcome back celebrity host Carson Kressley, an accomplished stylist and star of Bravo Network's series, 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.' Kressley was co-host of the Oprah Winfrey Network's OWN 'Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star, and was recently a contestant on ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars.'
'Carson is our MC, and this is his third year now,' said Nancy Crane, the Director of the Pediatric Cancer Foundation. 'After his great Dancing with the Stars shows, we can’t wait to see what he does on the runway! It’s really great to have him back this year.' Arrangements for the appearance of Carson Kressley were made through Greater Talent Network, Inc., New York, NY.
Nancy Crane has worked for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation for almost 3 years. She was involved with the organization when she was the Lightning Foundation Director for 6 years. When I was with the Lightning, we worked with kids with cancer a lot, so I got to know the families,' she said.
'Since I’ve been here, we’ve increased the number of clinical trials, which is our main mission, and we are looking for less toxic, more targeted therapies,' said Crane. 'We fund clinical trials and basic science research by partnering with leading hospitals nationwide. We collaborate with seven hospitals, where they do our trials. There’s a huge collaboration with all the seven major children’s hospitals in Florida and also with one in New York.'
With its national headquarters in Tampa, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research to eliminate childhood cancer through the Sunshine Project, the Foundation’s collaborative research initiative. By employing doctors and researchers from the country’s top institutions, the Sunshine Project is fast-tracking the development of new drugs and therapies that will ultimately lead to the cure of childhood cancers.
The fashion show is one of five events the foundation puts on each year. 'We do a good job of this event,' said Crane. 'When people donate, they want to make sure that their money is spent wisely, and we take great care to do that. We use 85% of our money for program services, which is our research.'
'We hope people will keep up with us and go to our web site, www.fastercure.org, and learn more about us,' she said. 'We are also on Facebook.'
'This is the 9th year we’ve done this fashion show. We started one in Atlanta, and this is now their third year. We partner with the Rally Foundation and they do a Fashion Funds the Cure in Atlanta. Their organization is very similar to ours and they also fund research.'
'This fashion show is fabulous,' said Crane. 'We have 12 children who are battling cancer who are our models, escorted by your favorite baseball, football and hockey players from our area. And then for a finale, we’ll have 38 young women who are no longer battling cancer walking the runway.'
'There are over 600 people there and it is quite the scene to see these triumphant women who have been in our show who are no longer battling cancer. They are all ages, tiny to young women. It’s quite exciting to see them walk the runway,' Crane said. 'The young girls are backstage with the models. The women mentor the younger ones that are there, and also create relationships with them. They give hope to the children. When the children see someone else who has survived, who is strong and healthy, the children get hope.'
'Jen Holloway from Brighthouse Networks, the title sponsor of the event, will be with us. She is at a lot of our events,' said Crane. 'On our web site, we’ll have photos after the show from this night, which is very special,' she said. 'We also bring some of our doctors to the event, who are the lead investigators. We have 2 trials open in the State of Florida. We don’t often get the opportunity to have that kind of personal interaction, and the event provides for that.'
Asked what the foundation needs most, Crane answered, 'We need money in any amount. If you can't give a lot, just a couple of dollars will help. We need the money in order to fund trials.'
The Pediatric Cancer Foundation is grateful for the generous sponsors that make this event possible. Title and Presenting Sponsors are Bright House Networks, Dex Imaging, and Harrod Properties, Neiman Marcus, and Mercedes-Benz. Diamond Sponsors are Marathon, Radiant, Konica Minolta, and Kyocera. Pearl Sponsors are Ed Taylor Construction South, Franklin Street, SecurityPoint Media, and Veredus. Platinum Sponsors are Italiano Insurance, Ronald and Stacey Leal, The Maxwell Family, Susan and John Sykes, Trenam Kemker, and V3 Partners.
Local restaurants including 717 South, AQUA at the Westin Tampa Bay, Beachwood BBQ, Catering by the Family, Chic Sweets, Datz Deli, Puff ‘n Stuff, Seasons 52, The Catering Company & Café, and Timpano will serve hors d’oeuvres. Drinks will be provided by Clos du Bois, Constellation Wines, SVEDKA, Pepin Distributing, and Ultra Pure. VIP catering will be compliments of Roy’s Restaurant, and Chocolates by Michelle.
The other four events Crane said that are held each year are, 'Brinner of Hope, a combination of Breakfast and Dinner on September 19th, 2012. We serve breakfast for dinner. Details will be on our web site. Brinner of Hope is held at the Ala Carte Paviilion in Tampa.'
'We have a Grand Slam Celebrity Fishing Tournament on Oct 19th through 21st, 2012, at Renaissance Vinoy in St. Peterburg,' she said. 'And on May 18th and 19th, 2012, we have the Johnny Ferlita Fishing Tournament at the Westshore Yacht Club.'
'The day after the fashion show, we open our web site for 'Cut for a Cure', when men and celebrities shave their heads on March 30th, to raise money and awareness,' Crane said. 'That is the only event where we split the proceeds with the Vincent Lecavalier Foundation. Vincent Lecavalier is the Captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning.'
Referring to this event, Crane said she didn’t leave the Lightning, she brought them with her. 'We’re working on the Tampa Bay Rays now,' she said. 'Joe Madden of the Rays is going to shave his head. The hair cut action is held at Peppin Hospitality Center as a private event. People donate the money to see the pictures of the hair cuts, which we put on the web site. We have a texting program this year, too. You can Text to Cut250555.'
Tampa, FL 33609
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