Tori’s Angels holds open house and ribbon cutting

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

Tori’s Angels opened a downtown office in Panora at 110 East Main St. and celebrated Friday, Aug. 28 with an open house and official ribbon cutting. The office space is shared with BH Real Estate and Consulting.

Refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres were served, and attendees were able to learn more about the organization.

Tori’s Angels began in 2010 with fundraisers to support the medical needs of a local girl, Tori Heckman. When there were leftover funds, the organization was formed to help other youth.

Tori’s Angels Administrative Assistant Ellen Betzer described how the organization functions and what type of situation qualifies.

“The child has to have a life-threatening illness, and they have to live here in the state of Iowa, and they have to have some type of medical insurance,” Betzer said. She added that once approved, Tori’s Angels can support the need until the child turns 19 years old.

“We can cover anything that’s not covered by insurance, that’s medically necessary for that life-threatening illness. So if there are doctor’s appointments that have a co-pay, or deductibles, things like that,” Betzer said. “We also cover the travel expenses and meals.”

Betzer shared a few numbers to provide scope on what Tori’s Angels has done.

“We recently approved our 208^th child, and we currently have 147 that we’re actively supporting,” she said. We’ve paid out over $3 million in benefits to the families we’ve covered in the 16 years.”

Visit www.torisangels.org to learn more about the organization.