The bond that developed between an oncologist and his plucky young patient lives on nine years after the teenager lost his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The Raymond Wentz Foundation, started by Dr. David Schrier, gives cancer patients with marginal resources one less thing to worry about by offering cash grants they can use to meet day-to-day expenses like food, rent, utilities and transportation.
Since its start in 2002, the foundation has awarded $1 million to 1,700 Coloradans in cancer treatment. Much of that money is raised through a wine tasting and auction, For the Love of Raymond.
“When I met Raymond and his sister, they were two scared children, wondering what would happen next,” Schrier recalled as a capacity crowd filled the University of Denver’s Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management. “Their mother had died, their father wasn’t in the picture, Raymond was very sick and they were living in a small apartment with no insurance and a very meager income.”
Attorney Brooke McCarthy, secretary of the foundation board, chaired the event that was emceed by KYGO’s Kelly Ford. Beth Soberg was the honorary chair and Dr. Meg Lemon, immediate past chair of the board, was given special recognition for her devotion to the cause.
Guests could taste 37 wines and a selection of beers, plus a seemingly endless array of hors d’oeuvres and desserts.
Schrier and his wife, Brenda, joined current board chair Giji John and executive director Colleen George in welcoming such supporters as Walt DeHaven and Wendy Aiello; Aimee and Bart Valls; Kaye and Dr. Jerry Lemon; Polly and Barry Gleichenhaus; Nancy Levine and fiance Dan Obarski; Penny Leather; Tom and Susan Craine; Drs. Henry and Stacy Fischer; Steve and Cyndi Levey; Kay and Robert Watson and Karen Bacon.Coming right up.
360 Arts is having a breakfast at the Denver Art Museum on Tuesday to present the 2011 Ann Robinson Levy Award to Ann Butler and the 2011 Gully Stanford Award to Dr. Diana Howard … Denver Mile High Rotary is hosting a Million-Dollar Hole-in-One Shootout at Kennedy Golf Course, 10500 E. Hampden Ave., on June 11 and 12. Qualifying shots are $1 each or 25 or $20; register by calling 720-563-9368 … Mulligans for Mutts, a $185-per-player golf tournament benefiting Foothills Animal Shelter, comes down June 13 at Lakewood Country Club. Caitlyn Ray is accepting reservations at 720-407-5226 … Fifteen burger-makers and one dessert chef (City Bakery’s Michael Bortz) are taking part in the 2011 Hot Rocks Grillers Challenge, a June 15 competition that raises money for men’s health initiatives at Denver Health Medical Center. The fun begins at 6 p.m. at Elway’s Cherry Creek; tickets start at $100 and must be purchased in advance at … Period costumes are encouraged for those attending the June 18 1940s World War II Era Ball at Boulder Airport. Tickets are $30 and $35 at the door, with proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project and the Spirit of Flight Center Colorado. More at .
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
