Alison Hicks
CEO and Co-Founder
2015… a NEW YEAR with new adventures and new opportunities. Both within our family and the Chelsea Hicks Foundation, January is a special month.
For our family, it means we get to celebrate Chelsea’s birthday. This is always marked by a delicious breakfast of pancakes (one of her favorite meals) at a special restaurant. As we celebrate Chelsea’s 11th birthday with mixed emotions, we know that if we had not walked the path of childhood cancer then we most likely would not have started Chelsea Hicks Foundation.
For the foundation, we celebrate as we begin our 6th year of existence. Chelsea inspired us to bring dress-up and play to other children battling serious illnesses. She showed her spirit of giving and fun every day she was in the hospital by playing and sharing her costumes, painting nails or having tea parties in the hallway. Our program, Chelsea’s Closet, has become such a success that the hospitals are asking for expansion. We have been honored to receive sustaining grants and sponsorships from Iberdrola Renewables, Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, Reser Family Foundation and Juan Young Trust. We are also in the final stages of a few other grants. We were one of 15 charities chosen for the Oregonian’s 2014 Season of Sharing campaign. These accomplishments will help us with growth and celebrating new adventures as we head into 2015.
We have had an outpouring of love and support this past year with the many costume drives that were held by both businesses and individuals. One family gathered and donated 250 costumes in memory of their son who had loved Chelsea’s Closet and dressing up. The memories of dressing up have become an important part in their healing, as it did for our family. When we started the Chelsea Hicks Foundation we wanted to give families positive memories and also provide the kids with a therapeutic benefit to their treatments.
With all the accomplishments we have achieved, there is still so much more we can do. Wouldn’t it be WONDERFUL if every child who was hospitalized was able to partake in a fun dress-up party? This year with our additional hospital trips, we are looking at serving more than 2000 children and their families right here in the Northwest and from your own neighborhoods. Would YOU be willing to take on the new opportunity to help us help them? Join our $5 Coffee Club with a recurring monthly donation, become a volunteer in our warehouse or at the hospital, or join a committee to help take CHF to that next level. We are looking forward to hearing from you at volunteer@chelseahicksfoundation.org or donate online.
Blessings to you and your family for a safe, happy and healthy 2015.
Alison Hicks
CEO and Co-Founder
Chelsea Hicks Foundation
