Tori’s Angels Annual Breakfast Benefit Fundraiser Sunday, June 22
Special to the Times Vedette
Tori’s Angels Foundation invites the community to enjoy breakfast and support a cause on Sunday, June 22 at the Panora Community Center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The organization will have eggs, bacon, pancakes and drinks at its annual Tori’s Angels free-will offering breakfast benefit and silent auction.
The annual breakfast celebrates the foundation’s first breakfast in 2010 for then-5-year-old Tori Heckman who needed heart surgery in Boston. The subsequent foundation was named for the 800 attendees who so generously donated money for Tori’s surgery and proved themselves to be “Tori’s Angels.” The breakfast has been held annually since that time, except during the pandemic.
“Tori turned 19 last year, so she has graduated from the foundation, but she will always be one of our kids,” Julie Dent-Zajicek, president of the board for Tori’s Angels Foundation, says. “Since that first breakfast, the foundation has accepted 182 children with life-threatening illnesses.”
Eleven of the foundation’s sponsored children reside or have resided in Guthrie County and will be honored at the event: Tori Heckman, the foundation’s namesake, Emma Reinhart of Panora, Emma King of Coon Rapids, Finley Jesko of Guthrie Center, Grace Webner of Panora, Sammy Beal, who now lives in Greenfield, Ayden Wood of Menlo, Aroyal McGregory of Panora, and Morgan Sheeder of Guthrie Center.
“Our beloved Libbie Ashworth of Panora passed away earlier this year, but her family is important to us and will always be a part of Tori’s Angels,” Dent-Zajicek says. “We feel the same way about the family of Noah Stein, who was also from Guthrie County and passed away in 2011.”
All of the foundation’s sponsored families have been invited to this annual benefit and may attend, depending on their respective child’s health. Attendees appreciate knowing that every dollar donated at the benefit breakfast goes directly toward helping the families that Tori’s Angels supports.
The silent auction will end at noon and features several one-of-a-kind items donated by local businesses and individuals. Winning bidders are urged to be present at noon to claim their items. Bidding on items will be different than in the past. Volunteers will be on hand to help attendees log-on through their phones to bid, and bidders can easily put in a maximum bid, then be alerted if or when they’ve been outbid.
Donations are needed to help the foundation’s sponsored children. Any Panora or Guthrie Center residents wishing to donate items to the silent auction are asked to contact JoAnn Alumbaugh: joann@torisangels.org.
Tori’s Angels Foundation raises funds to help the families of their supported children with life-threatening medical conditions. It pays medical expenses not covered by insurance from the date of sponsorship (sometimes even before the child is born) until the child’s 19th birthday. This includes travel expenses to treatment (airfare, mileage, hotel, meals), as well as approved prescriptions, medical co-pays and deductibles. The foundation depends on the generosity of community “angels” to help relieve the financial burden for these families.
Anyone who is unable to attend the benefit and would like to help Tori’s Angels children is invited to send donations to the foundation at P.O. Box 186, Panora IA 50216. Online donation options are located on the Tori’s Angels website, www.torisangels.org and on Facebook, www.facebook/torisangels/. Supporters are encouraged to follow the Tori’s Angels Facebook page to receive regular updates on the children. Be sure to put Saturday, Sept. 13 on your calendar for the annual Tori’s Angels gala at the Guthrie County Fairgrounds. The theme this year is “Angels Under the Big Top.”
For more information about Tori’s Angels, visit the foundation’s website. To request an application for support, contactTori’s Angels through its website, by calling 641-755-2011 or by emailing admin@torisangels.org.
