Mellow Mushroom Pizza Party
Childhood Cancer Heroes Love Pizza!
Connor’s Heroes hosted its 4th Annual Make and Bake Your Own Pizza Party at Mellow Mushroom. It is one of our most popular events with our childhood cancer hero families. We invite children in treatment for cancer and those who are now post treatment. More than 100 hero family members came! Everyone had a great time because, who doesn’t love pizza?
Mellow Mushroom staff were so kind and generous to every family. They showed the secret to rolling out the dough. They set each family’s table with sauce, their favorite toppings, and plenty of cheese. With their cute aprons and chef hats on, the children carried their pizzas to the kitchen. The kids loved to see their pizza slide into the hot oven and come out exactly as they wanted it.
Our childhood cancer hero families thank you for giving them this fun event!
Thank you to Susan and the staff at Mellow Mushroom in Midlothian.
Helping Hero volunteers: Wade Hysell and Angela for taking photos and Katie Tyson and Olivia for helping the families.
Childhood Cancer Heroes: Alvion, Ariana, Augustine, Austin, Brianne, Charlotte, Dayanne, Javi, John, Joshua, Kennedy, Nalani, Nikola, Owen, Shyann, TayNeise, Valentin
Check out Mellow Mushrooms website https://mellowmushroom.com/location/va-midlothian-1409-huguenot-road-23113/ for their hours, menu, and delivery.
2023 Hero Squad Soiree
Hero Squad Continues Its Streak
The 2023 Hero Squad raised an incredible $45,444 for local children battling cancer and Connor’s Heroes. Double it’s initial goal of $20,000. The money they raised will be used to give a Heroes Bag and Backpack to a family after their child’s diagnosis, a gift card for their favorite grocery store, and decorating a hospital room when a child is admitted for a bone marrow transplant.
The Hero Squad donors will support the important work done by Connor’s Heroes to help every child registered and in active treatment.
With a fundraiser this successful, we had to celebrate. We hosted a party at The Urban Roost Garden in Scott’s Addition in honor of the 2023 Hero Squad and their donors. The popular bluegrass group, The Hot Seats, were the perfect fit for the party.
Because He Wore His Be A Hero Shirt
Thomas Block was a member of the 2023 Hero Squad. He joined to give back for the support his family received from Connor’s Heroes throughout his daughter Charlotte’s treatment. Thomas told us about when he left the gym this morning, someone stopped him in the parking lot. She recognized his Be A Hero shirt. He used the moment to tell her about Charlotte and Connor’s Heroes. He thanked his fellow Hero Squad for being heroes to his daughter and every child in treatment today.
Celia, Executive Director, proudly recognized the top three fundraisers: Joe Dyer, Eric Strahs, and Virginia Podboy.
2023 Hero Squad
Bridget Reardon • Brooke Hall • Colleen WInfree • Connor Goodwin • Eric Strahs/ Once Upon A Child • Greg Colizzi • Jennifer Tolley • Jennings Dawson • Joe Dyer • KK Harris • Lauren Edwards • Lindsey Hollett • Liza Shands • Maggie Wilhelm • Mary Gleeson • Mike Koontz • Reilly Monroe • Tim Dearing • Tom Block • Virginia Podboy
Join The Hero Squad
The Hero Squad is made up of professionals who have a heart for philanthropy. As a member of the Hero Squad, you commit to raise $1,000 for children with cancer in September for September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The Jr. Hero Squad is open to preschool through high school students who try to aise $500 during the summer. READ MORE: www.connorsheroes.org/hero-squad/
Honoring Their Fathers
Honoring Their Fathers
On a weekend in October, two families held their events to raise money for our childhood cancer families. The Heizer Family had their 2nd annual Opie Open Golf Tournament. The McDonald Family hosted the 8th Annual Tailgate for Timmy.
What did these two events have in common?
They held the events in loving memory of their fathers: Paul “Opie” Heizer and Tim McDonald. Opie and Tim’s lives were cut too short by cancer.
The Heizer and McDonald families decided to carry on their father’s legacies by helping children with cancer. Our mission — to make sure no family will face their child’s cancer alone — stuck with them. They turned their grief into a blessing to help our childhood cancer hero families.
Opie Open
The 2nd Annual Opie Open was on Friday, October 13th at Hanover Golf Club. 23 foursomes signed up to play. Congrats to Tim Kelley’s team for winning the tournament.
The Opie Open raised more than $35,000 for our Holiday Heroes Fund. If there was one holiday Opie loved, it was Christmas! With the money raised from The Opie Open, every child in active treatment registered with Connor’s Heroes will receive hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards and presents. Connor’s Heroes will host a Holiday Open House for the families. We can give a hero family hope over the holidays thanks to the generosity of Cathy, her children Paul, Brett, and Meredith, their friends, and sponsors. We are honored to have Opie’s wife Cathy on our Board of Directors.
Tailgate For Timmy
Even a rainy Saturday (dumping buckets of rain) didn’t stop the friends and the McDonald family from having their fun Tailgate For Timmy party. Families set up tents and “tailgated” with food, drinks & decorations. Guests went from tent to tent and voted for their favorite tailgate by donating. The tent with the largest amount of money raised was the winner! Congrats to The Dietz Family. There was live music, a bounce house for the kids, and t-shirts. It is like a true tailgate party without the parking lot.
Tailgate For Timmy raised $19,000 — the most amount of money ever raised at their event. Tim’s son, Thomas, and (his very pregnant wife) Hannah were visibly moved by the outpouring of support from their friends and families.
If your family is philanthropic like the Heizer and McDonald families, you can turn your party into a giving party. Here are some of the ways you can easily raise money for children with cancer and Connor’s Heroes: https://www.connorsheroes.org/ways-to-give/
October Heroes Art Session
Childhood Cancer Heroes Halloween
At the October Heroes Art Session, we turned the courtyard at the Visual Arts Center into a pumpkin patch! Celia carted in dozens of pumpkins from a local pumpkin patch. The childhood cancer hero families painted the pumpkins in the craziest colors – blue, black, orange! At the next table, they painted pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies. Hero Artist Mentor Nancy Jacey helped the kids make silly masks. The October Heroes Art Session was a great way to get in the Halloween spirit.
Hero Artists & Volunteers: Patricia • Morgan • Monica • Nancy • Sheldon • Swara • Jack • Hanan
Picture Credit: Sheldon
About Heroes Art Session With Childhood Cancer Heroes And Their Families
Our Heroes Art Sessions provide a supportive environment in which childhood cancer heroes and their siblings can make art and build community with other hero families. At the sessions, you feel a collective sense of healing by creating and being together. We are grateful to Visual Arts Center for giving us the space for an open studio. And to our donors who allow the Heroes Art Sessions to happen at no cost to our families and to supply the artists with their materials.
2023 Circle Of Heroes
We closed out September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by thanking the members of our Circle Of Heroes. The Circle Of Heroes are people who generously commit an annual gift of $1,000 or more for the childhood cancer heroes who need Connor’s Heroes.
Reynolds Gallery graciously hosted the event. The gallery is well-known throughout the art world for its contemporary art collection and exhibition. One of the directors, Julia Monroe, is a new member of our Board Of Directors. Thank you to Julia for hosting the event.
Our guest of honor was Katie, Augie’s mom. Augie was diagnosed with cancer in both his eyes before he turned one years old.
“As I looked into the eyes of my five month old child, I wondered how long he had not been able to gaze at me in return. Was I disappearing before his eyes?”
Katie also shared her gratitude for the guests — members of the Circle Of Heroes. She looked around the room and said:
“Generosity, of course, is what you see before you in this room tonight. You are truly heroes in my family’s eyes and your miracles are making a real impact on the world around us.”
If you want to be a part of our Circle of Heroes, contact Celia, Executive Director. You can email her at celia@connorsheroes.org or call (804) 897-1272. You can easily give online — even setting up monthly payments to make giving easier. Click here for our secure website.
You may want to leave a lasting legacy to children with cancer. Visit our website to learn how you can donate securities, donor advised funds, or planned gifts. https://www.connorsheroes.org/legacy-giving/
September Heroes Art Session
PAINTINGS FOR THE NEW HOSPITAL
We called in the “big guns” for the September Heroes Art Session. Connor’s Heroes was given the distinct honor to create paintings for the Connor’s Heroes rooms in the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. We were so happy when our artist mentors: Jennike Duignam, Frankie Slaughter, and Sarah Cross jumped at this chance.
Frankie took a tour to get a feel of the rooms. Jennike knew her painting must feature a turtle (the mascot of the 12th floor). Sarah did what Sarah does best — concept a piece that draws out the artist in every child.
100 donors funded five rooms in the new Children’s Tower. We designed each room for the care and comfort of childhood cancer heroes, their families, and care teams who support them. We called them the ROOMS FILLED WITH HOPE — because that is what they will do — Give hope to a family and a child battling cancer. The rooms are located on the 12th Floor of the Children’s Tower.
“I didn’t hesitate when Celia asked if I could help the kids create a painting for a Connor’s Heroes hospital room. The heroes painted in their favorite colors, channeling positive energy in every brush stoke. We talked about normal kid stuff, but they were so excited to hear where this artwork was going. You could see their intention changed — they were painting for everyone who will sit in that hospital room. So many feels!” — Sarah Cross, Hero Artist Mentor
ART BY HEROES FOR HEROES
The children who painted were childhood cancer heroes who are in treatment right now, others are a few years out of treatment, and some lucky enough to be called a “survivor.” By their sides were their parents, brothers, sisters, and our volunteers.
We can’t wait for you to see the paintings in the hospital rooms. Thank you to everyone who donated for our capital campaign to open the five ROOMS FILLED WITH HOPE in the new Children’s Tower. And to the hero family who made a major gift which, in part, funded the paintings for the rooms.
Childhood Cancer Heroes: Sydney • Augie • Everette • Tay • John • Lucy • Valentin
Volunteers: Patricia • Gurbani • Vishnu • Hannah • Lauren • Damien
Hero Artist Mentors: Frankie Slaughter, Jennike Duignam, Sarah Cross
Picture Credit: Wade Hysell, Hysell Photography
About Heroes Art Session With Childhood Cancer Heroes And Their Families
Our Heroes Art Sessions provide a supportive environment in which childhood cancer heroes and their siblings can make art and build community with other hero families. At the sessions, you feel a collective sense of healing by creating and being together. We are grateful to Visual Arts Center for giving us the space for an open studio. And to our donors who allow the Heroes Art Sessions to happen at no cost to our families and to supply the artists with their materials.
2023 Jr. Hero Squad
To get ready for September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Connor’s Heroes hosted an ice cream celebration at Gelati Celesti in Stony Point. Hero families were treated to a scoop (or two) of their favorite ice cream.
Also, we celebrated the amazing Jr. Hero Squad. The Jr. Hero Squad were 18 kids — from preschool to college — determined to help kids with cancer. The 2023 Jr. Hero Squad smashed their fundraising goal. They raised a whopping $18,000.
A big thank you to the 2023 Jr. Hero Squad: Otis, Pauline & Major, Caroline, Peyton & Madeline, Becca, Mark, Hal & Maren, Nadia & Layla, Poppy, Alia, Annabelle & Isaac, Julianna, Roland. You were the hero children with cancer needed.
First Place: Julianna
Second Place: Otis, Pauline & Major
Third Place: Mark
The Jr. Hero Squad is one way you can raise money for children with cancer using the power of your social network. Connor’s Heroes makes it easy for you to set up a personal fundraising website. You share the link and watch the donations roll in.
You can:
PLEDGE YOUR BIRTHDAY (or any special event in your life)
HOST A GIFT CARD DRIVE (from our Amazon wishlist)
JOIN THE HERO SQUAD (for young professionals, college students, or retirees)
Summer Send Off 2023
“Oh my goodness! Look!!! Over there… it’s a rainbow!!”
CHILDHOOD CANCER HEROES & A RAINBOW
We couldn’t believe it. After an unexpected downpour — a beautiful rainbow graced the sky over our tent at Hardywood. Our Annual Summer Send Off was blessed with colors painted by Mother Nature herself.
A REUNION OF HERO FAMILIES
The Summer Send Off is our biggest family event of the summer. We invited all our childhood hero families. Heroes in treatment, ones who “rang the bell” to shout out they finished, the children who are on the road to survivorship, or who already made it there. It was a reunion of lives touched by Connor’s Heroes (and you).
Most of the families know each other in passing — passing one another in the waiting room in clinic, waving “Hi” in the hallway of the hospital. At the Summer Send Off, they can sit, relax, and socialize with heroes who understand what is like to raise a family when your child has cancer. Connor’s Heroes arranged all the fun yard games (check out our Connor’s Heroes corn hole boards!), craft tables, drinks from Hardywood, a delicious spread of BBQ from The Salty Pig and sweet treats from Gelati Celesti and King of Pops.
Jonathan The Juggler’s juggling and magic show was, as always, highly entertaining. He didn’t hold back. He juggled bowling balls, bowling pins, hoops, and flaming sticks of fire. He stopped the show with the magical appearance of his cuddly bunny.
We welcomed Richmond artist Theodora Miller. Theodora Miller is a recent addition to our growing roster of Artist Mentors. At the Summer Send Off, she set up her art studio at Hardywood. Kids, parents, staff and board members painted their names on a giant wood panel. Soon Theodora will add her signature brush style over top. Theodora will prepare the painting for its forever home — on the 12th floor of CHoR and Connor’s Heroes Rooms Filled With Hope.
Thank you to our amazing volunteers from ARCO Design/Build. ARCO’s Vice President, Quinlan Mulholland, and his team spent the afternoon out of the office making crafts with the kids, playing Jenga and Connect Four, and meeting the families they have generously supported over the years.
Connor’s Heroes hosts a big event like the Summer Send Off thanks to your generous donations. We offer these events free of charge to patients, parents, caregivers, and siblings. Thank you for giving our families a playful, wonderful evening together. Topped off with a beautiful rainbow.
If you work for a company or service organization who likes to give back, Connor’s Heroes has opportunities for short-term volunteering or a day of service. Email Anne-Randolph Carter at anne-randolph@connorsheroes.org for information. Or visit our online volunteer portal: https://www.connorsheroes.org/ways-to-give/
August Heroes Art Session
It was hot summer day, but this didn’t stop our childhood cancer heroes and their families from creating with Connor’s Heroes! At the August Heroes Art Session, artist mentors Monica and Lauren, tasked the kids with making ornaments for a special holiday fundraiser coming this winter.
We owe a big thanks to the artist mentors. For every Heroes Art Session, they put together art projects suitable for all ages, abilities, and creativity.
Childhood Cancer Heroes: Augie • Charlotte • Kennedy • Lucy • Sydney
Hero Artist Mentors: Monica • Lauren • Mia • John • Damien
About Heroes Art Session With Childhood Cancer Heroes And Their Families
Our Heroes Art Sessions provide a supportive environment in which childhood cancer heroes and their siblings can make art and build community with other hero families. At the sessions, you feel a collective sense of healing by creating and being together. We are grateful to Visual Arts Center for giving us the space for an open studio. And to our donors who allow the Heroes Art Sessions to happen at no cost to our families and to supply the artists with their materials.
Today's Helping Hero: AT&T
It started with the sight of a little boy wearing a tuxedo. At the 2014 Connor’s Heroes Heroes Art Ball, Vince Apruzzese and his family were the highest bidders on a sweet painting presented by a childhood cancer hero. The boy was only four years old and in the middle of a difficult treatment against neuroblastoma. The Heroes Art Ball was a night where they felt like a family — before cancer.
When Vince and his wife, Mary, brought the painting home, she didn’t feel right about hanging it up. She set it aside. One day, Mary saw on Facebook that the boy’s family moved to Texas. A few months later, the mother shared the devastating news: Her son lost his battle to cancer.
“Our hearts went out to the family. We knew the painting really belonged to his family, not ours,” said Vince.
Mary contacted the boy’s mom and offered to mail the painting to them. “We hoped his painting brought some peace to the family when they were grieving. He painted it with so much love and joy.”
Vince thought of the boy’s family when his employer, AT&T, gave him the opportunity to make a contribution to a nonprofit. “I am lucky to work for a company who believes in supporting nonprofits. We seek out organizations who are making a difference in small, but powerful ways. Obviously, I had a soft spot for the children Connor’s Heroes helped.”
Thanks to Vince, Connor’s Heroes received a $20,000 contribution from AT&T for our Heroes Bag and Backpack. Inside a Heroes Backpack, a child will find an iPad, crafts, toys, and games. No backpack is the same. Each is lovingly personalized for a child’s age and interests. In a Heroes Bag, a parent will receive the first (of many) gift cards for unexpected expenses that usually follow a cancer diagnosis. Our program team gives out, on average, six Heroes Bags and Backpacks a month. We are constantly restocking our shelves because more families are registering with Connor’s Heroes.
“I know this grant will do more than fill a backpack. A Heroes Backpack is a lifeline for a family. When the next child begins treatment, their Heroes Backpack will carry them through every step of their cancer journey. “
If you work for a corporation who gives back to your community, you can partner with Connor’s Heroes. Contact Celia Martin, Executive Director, at celia@connorsheroes.org or (804) 897-1272.
