By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Voorhees Sun
The Alicia Rose “Victorious” Foundation will continue its work to help sick teenagers feel comfortable during hospital stays by hosting its sixth annual wine tasting event on Thursday, March 11 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Barry Brown Health Education Center on the Campus of Virtua Hospital, 106 Carnie Boulevard in the township.
The event, which is well attended each year and predicted to attract 200 visitors this year, will feature wines from around the world provided by Canals Discount Liquor Mart, Berlin, and lagers and ales from Victory Brewing Company, Allied Beverage Group, and others. Visitors will also be treated to food from ChopHouse of Gibbsboro, Zallies ShopRite of Berlin, Milano Foods of Mt. Laurel, and Classic Cake of Cherry Hill.
Tickets cost $75 and can still be purchased at the door before the event. Giselle DiNatale, creator of the foundation, said the money raised from the event will go toward purchasing more teen kits for local hospitals and also support the cost of some special events that will be held in January of next year.
“Certainly the funds also go to the teen kits that we provide to each of the hospitals. We’re hoping to be able to purchase over 500 of these kits, which we will be giving to the New Jersey hospitals and CHOP of Pennsylvania,” she said.
The teen kits cost about $100 each, she said, and contain items chosen to help teens be more comfortable during their hospital stay.
Each year the event typically raises more than $30,000 for the foundation, Program Coordinator Liz Horvitz said.
DiNatale formed the Alicia Rose “Victorious” Foundation, a group dedicated to improving the lives of local teenagers in hospitals who are struggling with life-threatening illnesses. The foundation installs teen lounges in pediatric hospitals as a refuge for teens undergoing treatment for their illnesses.
Her daughter, Alicia Rose, was diagnosed with cancer in September of 2001 and passed away 10 months later in October of 2002. She spent the majority of her time in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, but she and her mother both realized the hospital didn’t have much social programming developed for teenagers.
It was here that the seeds for the “Victorious” foundation were planted.
The first lounge was developed and built at CHOP in 2003, DiNatale said, and the next year four more lounges were built. Now, the Alicia Rose “Victorious” Foundation has built 51 lounges across the country, eight lounges of which are here in New Jersey.
The lounges usually contain video game consoles, televisions, movies, and generally provide common areas for teens to meet with family and friends during their stays.
To learn more about the event and the foundation, please visit the Web site at Victoriousfoundation.org. Call 856–784–0615 for more information as well.
