A Celebration of Life
The 17th annual Cheryl Hannabury Memorial “Celebration of Life” community cocktail party was held on March 4 at the Ram’s Head Inn.
The gala, an Island tradition, is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Island Gift of Life Foundation which helps families across the East End with uninsured costs incurred during treatment of serious diseases —including travel and lodging expenses for family members when treatment centers are beyond driving range of home.
Ken Lewis, president of the foundation, was emcee for the evening and Jenifer Maxon served as auctioneer. Well over 200 people attended the event which, according to Mr. Lewis, raised just over $40,000 for the foundation. Auction items included a trip for 12 to Whitehead Light Station in Maine, and a week long stay for eight at a Mexican villa. All the money raised goes to the cause.
“We allocate over $10,000 to help with the bone marrow registry,” said Mr. Lewis in a phone interview on Monday. “That money supports blood drives in the tri-state area.”
He added that over 200 businesses and individuals contributed to make the event a success.
“On the whole it was a great night. I think we’ve been extremely fortunate to do as well as we’ve done with this event,” he said. “It’s our main fundraiser for the organization and it has served us well. We’re not just writing checks to people on a regular basis. A lot of things we do you can’t put a monetary amount on. In some cases we may just help negotiate a bill for a family that’s having a hard time navigating the system.
“People know what we do and they trust what we do. All of us who serve in this capacity, we’re just regular folks,” he added. “That helps people to feel more comfortable.”
The Island Gift of Life Foundation was started by Cheryl Hannabury, who died in 2002 of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and began with the creation of a bone-marrow donor registry. This year’s gala was bittersweet in that it is the first without Cheryl’s mother in attendance. Charlotte Hannabury, who worked tirelessly for the organization after her daughter’s death, passed away on September 27, 2016 at the age of 86.
