Thank you to everyone who helped make the 17th annual Thank God for Kids gala a success, with 900 guests in attendance and raising $1.1 million for the Cancer Kids Fund. The Cancer Kids Fund helps children, and their families, who are treated for cancer, sickle cell anemia and other blood disorders at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

A portion of the money raised from this year’s event will fund the construction of 10 private patient-family rooms on the expanded Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. The new patient rooms have been designed not only with the input of children who have received treatment there, but also their families. These rooms have also been designed to deliver state of the art medical care, further improving the high quality of care delivered by Children’s.

We would also like to give a special thank you to our hosts Frank Vascellaro and Belinda Jensen, event co-chairs Erin Lisle and Kelly Brenna, the Thank God for Kids committee and our patient host Amanda. If you would like to learn more about the Cancer Kids Fund or Children's of Minnesota, please call or e-mail Jennifer Peterson of Children's Foundation at (651) 855-2826.

The Gustafson family
Our story with the Cancer Kids Fund began almost fourteen years ago when our son, at age three, was diagnosed with leukemia. Initially we were unaware of the benefits that we were receiving from the Cancer Kids Fund because they seamlessly complimented the excellent medical care that was delivered by the doctors, nurses and staff of the Hematology/Oncology Group and Children’s Hospital.