One minute they were sipping fine wines and placing silent auction bids. The next, they were making plans to attend a concert.
When it comes to raising money, friends of the are ready to switch gears in an instant.
The ninth edition of the wine tasting, For the Love of Raymond, was the largest to date, raising enough money to provide emergency financial assistance to about 200 Colorado cancer patients who need help with rent, utilities and food.
The concert, Rock for Raymond, is set for Oct. 26 at the . “Cancer patients face so many challenges,” observes the band’s founder, Todd Park Mohr. “We want to make sure a resource like the Raymond Wentz Foundation is always there for them.”
Tickets are $150 and $400, with the higher-priced admission to include premium seating and a backstage meet-and-greet with the band. Call 720-238-5401.
Nancy Levine, a broker with Fuller Sotheby’s International Real Estate, chaired For the Love of Raymond, with Steve Levey, senior principal and chief executive officer of GHP Horwath, serving as honorary chair.
It was held at the CBS4 news anchor Alan Gionet was master of ceremonies and shared the emotional story of how cancer has touched his family with a crowd that included Dr. Stacy Fischer, chair of the Raymond Wentz Foundation board, and her husband, Henry; Kay and Robert Watson; Lynne and Dr. Richard Cundy; Karl and Darla Dakin; Mike and Cathy Wolf; dermatologist Meg Lemon; and the foundation’s executive director, Colleen George.
Dr. David Schrier started the Raymond Wentz Foundation as a living memorial to a 17-year-old patient of his whose bravery in the face of the cancer that eventually took his life was nothing short of amazing.
“Facing the ordeal of cancer is fearsome enough,” Schrier says. “No one should ever have to choose between medical treatment and providing for themselves and their family.”
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/getitwrite
