When Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s moved into its new home at 1719 E. 19th Ave., in August 2010, the opening celebration was a gala called the Kaleidoscope Ball.
It was fun: a flight of fancy for adults where storybook characters were the greeters and doctors took all who were interested on tours of the state-of-the-art facility, letting them explore rooms and equipment that would be off-limits once patients were in place.
To those who asked if there’d be another, organizers replied that there would. Just not anytime soon. “We want people to look forward to our galas, not groan and say ‘Oh, no, not them again’ ” was the message from co-chair Faye Washington, whose husband, Dr. Reginald Washington, is the hospital’s chief medical officer.
Last Wednesday, at the first in a series of “We’ve Got a Story to Tell” gatherings for area business and community leaders, we learned that the second Kaleidoscope gala will be chaired by Taryn Edwards and Nick LeMasters and held in February of 2013.
It’ll be a two-day affair highlighted by a five-course meal prepared by Ritz-Carlton Denver executive chef Justin Fields and wines from Charles Smith Wines.
Top-tier tickets will include round-trip limousine service, an overnight stay at the Ritz-Carlton, spa services and Sunday brunch. The dates are Feb. 2 and 3, 2013; only 240 tickets will be sold. Learn more by calling 303-839-6782.
Money raised at Kaleidoscope 2013 goes to the Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation, whose mission is to assist patients and families in need. The foundation, headed by Luanne Williams, can offer grants of up to $1,000 to help cover critical non-medical expenses such as gas, groceries and clothing, car seats, diapers and blankets. The foundation also oversees the Mothers’ Milk Bank that provides life-saving nourishment for babies from Alaska to Florida.
At Wednesday’s gathering, Reginald Washington, along with Mimi Roberson, the chief executive officer of Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s, and neonatologist Jeff Hansen welcomed such supporters as Saunders Construction president John Beeble; Encana Oil & Gas spokesman Doug Hock; Don Thuente, chief financial officer at FirstBank; Bob Heykoop, a financial consultant with AXA Advisors; Lisa Halbleib of CenturyLink; Jean Galloway and Frances Owens of Galloway Group; and Bradley Joseph of Silver Spur Productions.
“We aren’t trying to be the biggest and the baddest,” Roberson said of the hospital. “We just want to be the best.”
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and
