By ROBERT LINNEHAN
This year the annual Birthday Bash for the Alicia Rose “Victorious” Foundation will help support a new teen center for a local hospital.
The Eighth Annual Birthday Bash, “Banding Together for the Future,” will raise money for a teen center to be constructed in the new Virtua Health hospital.
The event is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. to midnight at Lucien’s Manor in Berlin.
President and founder of the foundation Giselle DiNatale said this is the group’s signature event, with a goal of $100,000 set to be raised. About 400 attendees are expected, she said.
“What we’re gearing up to do for the community is raise funding for our new Virtua Teen Lounge in the new hospital in Voorhees,” DiNatale said. “We’re banding together for the future. We want to bring the community together and bring more awareness to teen cancer and teen cancer awareness week.”
DiNatale recently stumped for a “Teen Cancer Awareness Week” at the state level and the Assembly will be voting on the issue in a few weeks, she said.
If passed, the third week in January will be known as “Teen Cancer Awareness Week,” DiNatale said.
The night will feature a three-course “sea and turf,” dinner and live entertainment from the Big City Dance Band. A cocktail reception will kick the night off, she said, which will feature top shelf open bar and butlered hors d’oeuvres.
The fund raiser will also include over 150 signature baskets that will be up for silent and live auctions. The baskets include sports memorabilia, vacations packages, jewelry, and other luxurious items, DiNatale said.
A new feature at the auction is a series of designer wines from specialty vineyards in California. One of the top bottles that will be auctioned, DiNatale said, is a 3-litre 2005 Araujo Estate “Eisele Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon valued at $1,365.
Kelly Ripa has again donated four tickets to “Live with Regis and Kelly” in New York City where the winners will attend a taping of the television show and then attend a private lunch with host Kelly Ripa.
DiNatale said Ripa has mentioned several times that the “Victorious” Foundation is her favorite charity.
DiNatale formed the Alicia Rose “Victorious” Foundation, a group dedicated to improving the lives of local teenagers in hospitals that 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.
Tickets are $125 each. Party attire is suggested.
Please visit the group’s Web site for more information at Victoriousfoundation.org. Questions can also be asked by sending a message to info@arvf.org.
