October 4, 2006 8:10 AM
It is the personal touch that means so much, and the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation does just that -- provides support for families with a child suffering from cancer.A fundraising luncheon was held at the Four Seasons Biltmore with Linda Armstrong Kelly, mother of bicycle racing legend Lance Armstrong, as the speaker. She knows about cancer and wrote "No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me."
Paula Lopez, the KEYT news anchor, was the master of ceremonies and Nikki Katz, executive director of the nonprofit foundation, introduced 15-year-old Kelsey Goeres, a cancer survivor, who moved the audience to a standing ovation with her simple message of hope.
Sponsors of the benefit included the Caesar family, Phil and Karen Van Horn, the Covert family, Santa Barbara Bike Group, Mark and Lynda Schwartz, Dan and Debbie Kass, Business First National Bank, Betsey Moller and Rick and Celeste Scheinberg.
The purpose of the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation is to help ensure that children with cancer receive the undivided comfort of their parents during treatment and recovery. It is often difficult to sustain an adequate income while providing care for a child in treatment.
The foundation provides middle- to low-income families with financial aid for rent or mortgage payments, hotel accommodations, as well as other support services. Volunteers in the group are storytellers at Cottage Hospital and provide care packages, parent support groups and little extras.
It is the personal touch that means so much.