Take it from Lyn Schaffer: It’s hard to go wrong with a fundraiser — even one in its 27th year — when it includes cute kids, adorable outfits, a celebrity or two and some handsome firefighters from the South Metro Fire Rescue Authority.
Still, it’s nice to throw in the occasional new element.
So for the 2012 Little Hearts Luncheon & Fashion Show, Schaffer added dogs. Not just any pooch, though. Ali, Gracie, Luke, Max and Newman are members of the Prescription Pet Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado, and these mellow pups deliver wags and creature comfort to the sick kids hospitalized there.
Schaffer, who has chaired Little Hearts for 17 years, is the wife of Dr. Michael Schaffer, a professor of pediatrics and cardiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He’s also medical director of outpatient operations for the Children’s Hospital Heart Institute, and the $70,000 raised this year goes to the institute’s patient/family assistance fund.
Michael Schaffer also presented the Sam and Fern Primack Heart Who Cares Award to Paige Morris and Piya Vichayavilas, who work in the hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit.
Thirty youngsters, many who are or have been patients at the Heart Institute, walked the runway at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum last Friday, in clothing from perennial sponsor Dillard’s Park Meadows for a crowd of 430. The emcee was Kim Christiansen of 9News.
Jackie and Joe Gebhardt of Davidson Gebhardt Chevrolet and Subaru of Loveland were there to cheer on their 3-year-old grandson, Joseph. Joseph was born with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, and has undergone multiple surgeries at Children’s. “He’s a special little guy,” Joe Gebhardt said.
Having Little Hearts at the spacious museum located on the former Lowry Air Force Base also contributed to the success, as many, including Dr. Dunbar Ivy, the hospital’s cardiology department chief, had not been there before. Ivy was the celebrity escort for 3-year-old Matthew, who has congenital heart disease and is monitored for pulmonary hypertension. Ivy said he had a special interest in checking out the venue because “My daughter’s prom is being held here in two weeks, so I’m trying to decide which plane I should hide in.”
The Anna and John J. Sie Foundation was the presenting sponsor for the event and attending were Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation trustees Kelly Kennedy, Molly Broeren and Peter Calamari; former Colorado first lady Frances Owens; Irene Zimmer, owner of Third Avenue Studio hair salon; Dr. James Jaggers, the hospital’s chief of pediatric cardiac surgery; Jennifer Koontz Davis of Gilead Sciences, also an event sponsor; Mike and Cyd Rodriguez; and such committee members as Lori Claussen, Louise Richardson, Sandee Walling, Ashley Gallegos, Veronica Benavides and Edie Bell, who recently joined the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and @GetItWrite on Twitter
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