2011 events   |   2010 events   |   2009 events   |   2008 events   |   2007 events   |   2006 events   |   2005 events Royal Oak Beaumont Pediatric Oncology Visit--December 2007 By Debbie Hormel-QFAD Royal Oak Beaumont Chairperson We never know what to expect when actually walking into the beautiful Garden Room. December's visit was no exception! We had a little 3 year old princess who was celebrating her birthday today and informed us that she was fully capable of doing her own make-up, now that she was 3! Judy Harvey, our favorite baker, came with her delicious cookies and taught the kids how to decorate them professionally. Once decorated, most were devoured on the spot by happy decorators! We had the privilege of having Mayaeni (www.mayaeni.com) a singer/song writer from New York City come and sing for the kids. She also brought percussion instruments for everyone to play along with her---and boy did they ever! Some little ones even got up and danced. It was amazing to see how her music really touched these children! Mayaeni also brought along her mother and a friend who is also in the music business and has now decided to join QFAD as a volunteer, and presented everyone present with a gift of a CD. Thank you Mayaeni for volunteering to come and make this visit so special! Debbie Hormel was joined by QFAD volunteers Catie Hormel, Jeremy James and Esther Skiba, our area director. Children's Hospital Visit - December 10, 2007 By Nikki Follis-QFAD Children's Hospital of Michigan Coordinator We had a great time at Children's Hospital on Monday, December 10th. We were honored to welcome Mya Barashi, Greg Smith and John Winter from the Shelby Township Kiwanis Group. Greg, John and Mya took care of the crafts with the children on Monday while many of the girls chose to paint their own nails. We had 11 girls and 8 boys attend our function this week. There were also 6 room visits as well. The day started off slow, but before we knew it, we had a room full of children putting together crafts and having a lot of fun. We had one young girl in the room who was just diagnosed a few days prior to our visit. She was only in the room for a few minutes, but her nurse came in to tell us how wonderful it was for her since she was really having trouble adjusting to her recent diagnosis. We had very few parents join us for the visit, so there are no children's photos to share. We did, however, take plenty of Polaroid's for the children's photo frames that they made. This was a wonderful visit and it appeared that everyone enjoyed themselves. Thank you to those who helped this week - Greg, John and Mya! Your effort is sincerely appreciated. Holiday Gift Wrapping at Borders - December 2007 Our dedicated volunteers spent 2 Saturdays this month, wrapping gifts for donations at Borders Books. We have done this for several years and it always enjoyable to visit with the customers and other volunteers. Wrapping this year took place at the Borders stores in Farmington Hills and Utica. We also had the pleasure of meeting Branda Nappan, the area director of Queen for a Day, Washington DC chapter, who was in Michigan. Branda made the drive from Detroit Metro airport to the Utica store so she could find out how we run our chapter. She has been following the stories on our website and was very impressed by all of the activities we do. I told her it was a team effort and we all work together to make our chapter a success. Thanks to all the volunteers who gave up your Saturday to help with the fundraiser and to the Borders stores for inviting us. Armenian Renaissance Association Donation - December 2007 Our Queen for a Day & Heroes Chapter has received a very generous donation from the Armenian Renaissance Association. I came home today to find my porch filled with bags of items for the children in our program. These wonderful donors collected over 120 items, so many that they all would not fir in the photos. They gave toys and art supplies, makeup and nail polish for boys, girls babies and on up. Thank you from all of us at Queen for a Day & Heroes, your donation will be put to good use and are sure to bring tons of smiles to the children. Some Enchanted Evening for Mackenzie at the Tea Party Castle By Debbie Hormel-QFAD Royal Oak Beaumont Chairperson Enchanted, spellbinding, and spectacular, are just some of the words I can think of to describe the tea party that was given for Mackenzie at the Tea Party Castle in Shelby Township, Michigan. Owner Karen Lowery generously threw a fantasy-filled party for Mackenzie and her girlfriends. After picking out a royal gown to wear, they were treated to the Princess Parlor for hair and makeup, etiquette lessons, tea, and dinner served on the finest china. They had the girls put on a fashion show in their princess gowns; there was a visit from Prince Charming himself and even Santa Claus! It was an evening that none of us wanted to end. From the beautiful room to the dance with her own Daddy, Mackenzie, her girlfriends and the adults were mesmerized by the wonderfully orchestrated details. Karen your generosity will not be forgotten. QFAD thanks you for making our little Mackenzie a real Princess. Queen for a Day Charity Event at Meadowbrook Hall-November 27, 2007 By Catie Hormel--QFAD Volunteer On November 27, 2007 Oakland University's Political Science Honors Society, College Republicans, College Democrats, and the Pre-Law Fraternity, held their annual Holiday Dinner, at the historic Meadow Brook Hall. That evening, participating members were encouraged to bring a new child's toy to the event to benefit Queen For a Day. Catie Hormel is the treasurer of the Political Science Honors Society and suggested that the toys be donated to Queen For a Day. Over 100 new toys were collected at the event. This generous donation will be added to our QFAD toys for our hospital and home visits. Thank you Oakland University students for your generous donations! Chris Goth, Catie Hormel, Craig Brown, Elizabeth Roberts Officers in attendance from Pi Sigma Alpha, Political Science Honor Society 50+ toys Collected for Queen For a Day Royal Oak Beaumont Visit-November 13, 2007 By Debbie Hormel--QFAD Beaumont Hospital Coordinator Royal Oak Beaumont's Pediatric Oncology unit was treated to another day of pampering, playing and games on November 13. We had 4 little queens and 3 little heroes come to the Garden Room for the festivities, but we also delivered goody bags to 6 other girls who could not join us. Jeremy James, our Detroit policeman/QFAD volunteer came with badges and smiles for all the kids. They love to interact with him...it must be the uniform! Debbie Hormel was also joined by Dena Raminick, Jessie Albright, Cindi Shahly and Catie Hormel. They each had a role in making the day a great time by showering the kids with lots of attention, love and gifts. Each little queen was given a tiara, boa, make-up and nail application, a goody bag, and they enjoyed making crafts. Our heroes enjoy tattoos, crafts, game time with Jeremy, a goody bag, a badge and fireman hat. Our two hour visit flew by. Joann Young, our Child Life specialist, told us that one of our little guests hadn't smiled or had hardly spoken since they were admitted a week ago. Today, they did both! Catie Hormel and Jeremy James with one of our queens. Being pampered by Catie and Dena All the kids love when Jeremy comes to volunteer. Where else to they get to where a real police hat?! Getting all beautiful and giving us a big beautiful, memorable smile! QFAD volunteers: Cindi Shahly, Debbie & Catie Hormel, and Jeremy James Jeremy applying one of his special tattoos Getting to pick a stuffed animal! Our crafters! Queen for a Day Helping Other Non-Profits: Camp Mak-a-Dream, October 25, 2007 By Debbie Hormel--QFAD Amazing Volunteer The Detroit Chapter of Queen For a Day not only loves to support our little ones, but is totally dedicated to making sure that we also support our fellow workers in the quest to make sure every child with cancer is loved. On October 25, the non-profit organization Camp Mak-a-Dream, held their annual Cookies-n-Dreams fundraiser at the Somerset Collection Mall in Troy. Many Queen For a Day volunteers showed up to work at the registration area, the putt-putt golf, to set-up, clean-up and help wherever was needed. We all had a wonderful time helping them raise almost $80,000! Our chapter has a dedicated group of volunteers that loves to be together helping the pediatric oncology community in any way we can! As we work as a team for these children we've grown closer to each other and really have a great time sharing in this awesome adventure together. We've gotten to know so many of our kids in a personal way, as we see them at the hospitals, at our Michigan camps (where we also volunteer together) and even at events like this one. (pictured: Queen For a Day volunteers Esther Skiba, Catie Hormel, Jeremy James and Debbie Hormel) Hurley Hospital Pediatric Visit in Flint-October 27, 2007 By Britt Harrison-QFAD Hurley Hospital Coordinator Volunteers were Britt Harrison, Tifarah Brumback and LaShana Gardner. QFAD visited approximately 30 patients in the Pediatric Ward. Hurley had a very busy last couple of days and all of their beds were filled, we dressed up in our costumes and brought candy for all of the kids. A majority of our visits were with children 12 and older, so we had plenty of fun times talking about school, and doing crafts with make-up and nails. There was one young man who wanted to go home and take a shower before the beauty queens came in to visit him, but we told him he looked just fine and enjoyed the visit. All during the morning between 6-9 AM, radio station CK105.5 broadcasted live from Hurley Medical Center, I received an interview and I had Jenna, the founder of Queen for a Day call in and talk on the radio, her interview was broadcasted after 9AM. They spoke with the Charge Nurse for Pediatrics and also spoke about the 100th birthday of Hurley Medical Center. Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak Visit - October 9, 2007 By Debbie Hormel-QFAD Beaumont Hospital Coordinator Our October visit to Royal Oak Beaumont's Pediatric Oncology Unit was definitely different from all of our previous visits. This time we only had 2 patients come to visit us in the beautiful Garden Room! Not that there weren't other children who wanted to come, but with a flu and pneumonia bug traveling thru the hospital, most were not allowed to leave their room. No problem! Our wonderful QFAD volunteers brought the party to them! Bags were filled with toys, make-up, nail polish, tiara's, boas, tattoos, fireman hats and badges. We visited approximately 5 boys and 9 girls from the ages of 4 to 18. We even had the privilege of helping one young lady celebrate her 16th birthday, bedside! Ciara Brown, Miss Michigan Junior Teen brought her a bag filled with QFAD goodies and a picture frame for the Polaroid picture we took of her. A special visit by Jeremy James in his police uniform brought smiles to everyone. Chairperson , Debbie Hormel , was joined by QFAD volunteers Karen Blaszk, Dena Raminick, Patty Cody, Jeremy James, Catie Hormel , and Ciara Jones (Miss Michigan Junior Teen) and her mother Carla Jones. Miss Michigan Junior Teen with one of our Royal Oak patients Jeremy and Catie doing crafts with one of our Queens! Packing goody bags to bring to the children in their rooms Miss Michigan Junior Teen, Ciara Jones delivering a QFAD birthday gift to another Queen. Gilda’s Comedy Walk at the Zoo-October 6, 2007 By Debbie Hormel Queen For a Day had the privilege of assisting Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit with their annual fundraiser on October 6, 2007 at the Detroit Zoo. I had 8 wonderful volunteers that spent their Saturday morning working on animal crafts with children whose parents were somehow involved with this charity walk. That morning proved to be extremely hot but our Queen For a Day volunteers did not wilt in the heat! We all had a great time working together and spreading the word out to our community telling them what Queen For a Day is all about. We was even able to make a few connections with other volunteers (Miss Michigan Junior Teen & a magician) that have since volunteered at Royal Oak Beaumont during our last pediatric visit. Laura Ortiz the organizer for Gilda’s expressed her thanks to us and asked if we could please come back next year, to once again run the craft area for them. The event started at 8:00 a.m. and ended by noon. Chairperson Debbie Hormel was joined by Lori Faitel, Jennifer Skiba, Katie Dzwigalski, Allison Capaldi, Caroline Olsen, Jessie & Ben Albright, Vicki Jaeger, and Jessica Howell. Great job team!! Hurley Hopsital in Flint Visit - September 28, 2007 By Britt Harrison-QFAD Hurley Hospital Coordinator Queen for a Day volunteers were: Esther Skiba, Britt Harrison, Danelle Gay, Lauren Elizabeth, Amber Bouchard, Nikki Rose, Tifarah Brumback, Stephanie Kay. We visited approximately 25 patients in the Pediatric Ward at Hurley Hospital. This was our first visit at Hurley Hospital. All of the children and nurses were excited for our visit. We received local exposure from CK105.5. Stephanie Kay is the morning show radio host who announced our visit several times during the week on the radio. We visited many young children, some who were too sick to come to the activity room, but requested that we visit them in their room. All of the girls loved to have their nails painted and makeup done. We had one very shy young man who at first was too shy to come into the room but about a half an hour later, he showed up, built some crafts, a Halloween home and decorated a treasure box! All of the volunteers had a great time with the kids. Children's Hospital Visit - September 17, 2007 By Nikki Follis-QFAD Children's Hospital of Michigan Coordinator We had a fantastic time at Children's Hospital on Monday, September 17th. We were honored to welcome Police Officer's Jeremy (Camp Quality - Petoskey) and Wendy (new to QFAD) to our group this time around. Both Jeremy and Wendy attended in their uniforms and the looks on the children's faces were priceless. Wendy was also kind enough to bring in some police badges for the children to take with them. Those were quite a hit. Thanks, Wendy! Carie took care of tattoos and crafts with the children on Monday while Wendy painted nails. Jeremy used his personality to charm the children and built Lego machines with a couple of our Heroes. If I remember correctly, he also had the handcuff's out for a couple of the boys to check out. I do remember hearing the words from the boys "Wow, are those real?" Too fun! We had 4 girls and 6 boys attend our function this week. There were just 3 room visits as well. For the most part, it was a quiet afternoon, which means many more healthy kids this week than in times past. We had one 14 year old girl in the room who was accompanied by her boyfriend. The boyfriend was nice enough to allow her to pamper him for the day, which was quite comical for those watching him transform. The smile on the young girls face was enough to make the red lipstick on her boyfriend well worth the time! We also had one child in the room, Quilltrell, who was accompanied by his mother. He was able to have his photograph taken in the "Supervisor's" hat accompanied by both of our "Hero" Officers. All-in-all, it was a great time had by all. Thank you to those who helped this week - Carie, Wendy and James! Your effort is sincerely appreciated. QFAD Visit to St John Hospital in Grosse Pointe, September 10, 2007 By Esther Skiba, QFAD Director Volunteers Sherry Duquett and I had a wonderful afternoon visiting with the children at St. John Hospital in Grosse Pointe. The visit was the largest we have had at St. John to date. Sherry was in charge of the craft table were the children decorated bird houses, funny sunglasses, door hangers and did scratch art. Even the parents participated. I had the job of make-up and nail polish application and because of the large turnout for the visit, Sandy, the Child Life Specialist at the hospital helped me with the girls at that table. In all we saw 6 boys and 12 girls including the ones that were unable to come to the activity room. We had one young lady about 12 or 13 that was very quiet, but participated in all the activities, when it was time for her to choose her crown and gifts she had a huge smile, which caused her mom to smile and thank us for her daughters smile. The mother said that her daughter hadn't smiled in a very long time. To some people it may seem that would we do is not that significant but to a mother that has not seen her child smile in maybe weeks, it means EVERYTHING! QFAD Private Hospital Visit with Natalie, September 5, 2007 By Esther Skiba, QFAD Director Today I had the honor of visiting with 13 year old Natalie, in Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. We had been contacted the week prior by Karen, one of Natalie's former 8th grade teachers. Kelli and Elizabeth Yager had set up a private home visit with Natalie for Thursday, September 6 as Natalie was supposed to be home on the 3rd. On Tuesday evening Karen called and told us that Natalie had not come home and had in fact gotten a lung infection and was in the Intensive Care Unit. The doctors were not giving her much time, and Karen asked if we could come as soon as possible. My schedule was open so it was decided that the visit would be the next day At noon. Karen met me in the lobby of the hospital with a hug and a thank you for being there. She told me Natalie was not doing well. We went to Natalie's room where we saw a tiny young girl, struggling for breath even though she was hooked up to oxygen. Her parents were there as were some of the hospital staff. The nurses had decorated the room with a beautiful canopy of netting over the bed, balloons were tied to each corner of the bed. An exquisite pink prom dress hung up in the room. Natalie had asked that it be brought up to the hospital so she could put it on for the visit, unfortunately she was not up to putting it on. Her parents, both there had also, on her instructions brought a photo album for me to see. It included pictures of the prom held in Natalie's honor after 8th grade graduation, because her friends knew it would be the only prom Natalie would ever attend. There were also pictures of Natalie ice skating, she was training to be an Olympic skater. The nurses made Natalie as comfortable as they could and the Queen for a Day PARTY started. The hospital social worker brought in 4 friends from school and Natalie's skating coach and a group of other doctors and nurses that had been caring for Natalie.Each of the ladies were given bright pink boas and the boys from school humored us and put on pirate hats. What was at first a very solemn room was becoming quite joyous.We were indeed celebrating Natalie! Because of Natalie's frail condition we tried to keep her quiet and we did not do the usual make-up, nail polish, or crafts. She was given 6 or 7 tiaras to choose from and after a few minutes she whispered that she couldn't decide which she wanted as she loved them all. I told her to keep them all because a Queen should have one for each day of the week. I wish you could have all witnessed the smile on her face. We took lots of pictures as everyone in the room wanted their picture with Natalie. A special friends picture was taken of the 5 school friends and each of them were given a copy and special frame to put it in.Natalie was given several gifts from QFAD including a beautiful blanket hand made by Rose Champion who sends them for our kids all the way from Florida. Her friends brought her a banner that had messages from Natalie's friends at school along with a bouquet of roses and a bouquet of sunflowers. The nurses had a special cake made for the party and had brought in a pizza lunch.A young resident doctor presented her with a quilt that she had transferred photos of Natalie doing the things she enjoyed, all of us at the party were asked to sign it as well. It was very obvious that Natalie had found her way into many peoples hearts, including mine. The next day an email arrived from Karen, who had stayed at the hospital into the evening with Natalie and her parents, she told me that Natalie had worn a tiara the entire time and clutched the scepter, which I also gave her to keep. Her mom wanted to put them away for the night but Natalie refused to let her. Natalie's father had gone home to get fresh clothes and when he returned to the hospital he had a HUGE bouquet of 3 dozen roses that had been delivered to Natalie from a Queen for a Day family. Natalie told him that"this day just keeps getting better". On Thursday, the family was told Natalie had only 24 hours to live, and family started to arrive from Argentina and Peru, where the family is from. Well, Natalie had other plans. By Saturday she was using only oxygen in her nose and was drinking lots of fluids. She told the nurses she wanted to go outside, so they took bed and all!, She then wanted to go to the beach, so she was taken to the therapy room were she got into a bathing suit and sat into a whirlpool tub. The nurses gave her and her cousins that had arrived from out of town squirt guns and they had a squirt gun fight. What an amazing staff. I hope, with all my heart that one day our program will not be needed because cancer will no longer be an issue, until then I am honored to be a part of the journey of these brave children and their families. QFAD Visit to Camp Quality, in Petoskey , August 17 , 2007 By Ruth Williams-QFAD Petoskey Camp Quality Coordinator On August 17, 2007 a group of 17 volunteers form the Detroit chapter of Queen/Heroes for a Day made the 4 hour drive to Camp Quality in Petoskey, MI. We had such a great day! This year we included the boys in our activities that were all in keeping with the theme of "Camp Quality is a treasure". We had 19 boys and I think their favorite thing was the air brush tattoos and the face painting. Although we did have a number of them get their nails painted and had colored gels put in thier hair to make it red or blue and stand it up. Adding them to our program was great and I look forward to having them with us from now on. The girls, as always, love to get their hair, make-up and nails done. We saw 26 girls this year and had a lot of fun with them. One of the best things this year was the addition of 3 male volunteers, Sargent Jeremy (JJ) James of the Detroit Police Dept., Patrick his cousin, and Noah Raminick. The kids really enjoyed having them at the event. JJ played pin the eye patch on the pirate, Patrick did the face painting with a never ending line and Noah helped with a pirate word search game. We had so much going on I just wish we had the whole day to spend with the kids, it goes by so fast. All the volunteers can't wait for our return trip next year. QFAD Visit to Camp Quality, Camp Coneconic in Fenton, July 12, 2007 By Beth Monicatti Blank-QFAD Fenton Camp Quality Coordinator Camp Quality www.campqualitymi.org is a summer camping experience and year-round support program for children with cancer. "Reach for the Stars" Hollywood style was the theme. At the camp for the week were 45 kids age 4-16. Participating were 23 girls and 22 boys--all in need of a camp experience. Queen for a Day/Heroes was asked to assist in the preparations before the big dance, held the last night. 25 incredible volunteers kept the campers busy with lots of activities: beauty treatments with hair, nails and make up, play time with a certified therapy dog, trivia for prizes, tattoos, dress up, crafts and pictures to take home. I noticed that all the girls with flat hair wanted curly hairstyles and the girls with curly hair wanted their hair ironed flat! (It's just like us girls!) Even the boys requested gel, flat ironing and spray glitter. After the major coifing, all the campers had their pictures taken with their robes and either a tiara or top hat while holding a mock "Oscar" award statue. All the Camp Quality campers were given gift bags with their own "Oscar" award statues, microwave popcorn, movie candy and a movie themed key chain. The wonderful volunteers included: Debbie and Ronnie Hormel, Ruth Williams and the amazing staff from Excel Academy of Beauty, Kelly Piech, Brook Allen-Burnstein, Lori Sparr, Nikki Follis, Rose Lemaigre, Barb Johnson, Janet Cummings, Lori Faitel, Jenna Ritter, Ashley Vanderhoff, Amanda Willick, Patty Cody, Karen Blaszyk and Esther Skiba. Children's Hospital Visit - June 25, 2007 By Nikki Follis-QFAD Children's Hospital of Michigan Coordinator On Monday, June 25 we went to visit the children at Children's Hospital in Detroit. The children were treated to crafts, makeup, nail polish applications and of course tiaras, boas, fireman hats and gift bags of goodies. We had 2 new volunteers join us today for the fun, Carie Deaton, and Liz Katz who is a reporter for the Royal Oak Daily Tribune and recently did a story on QFAD and then joined as a volunteer. I am sure they both found the experience rewarding. We had a total of 17 children, 10 that came to the activity room and 7 room visits. 11 girls were named Queen for a Day and 6 Boys declared Heroes for a Day. left to right, QFAD volunteers, Liz Katz, Carie Deaton and Nikki Follis Utica/Shelby Kiwanis Presentation Report for Private visit: June 7, 2007 Debbie and Catie Hormel had the honor and privilege of presenting and explaining about the Queen For a Day program to the Utica/Shelby Kiwanis group at their weekly lunch meeting on June 7. We brought with us a typical “goody bag” for a Queen and a Hero, our crowns, boas, firefighter hats, badges, crafts, and Polaroid camera. An explanation of our program and details of a typical hospital party were presented. Afterwards, we made time for specific questions from the group about our all-volunteer program. Overall, it was a wonderful time of sharing and learning. If you have a group or club that would like to have Queen For a Day representative come and speak, please contact Esther Skiba at qfad.heroes@gmail.com or Debbie Hormel at dchormel@wideopenwest.com. Report for Garden Party at Royal Oak Beaumont ’s Pediatric Oncology unit June 5, 2007 By Debbie Hormel, Chairperson, Royal Oak Beaumont Pediatric Oncology What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon: being with old friends, enjoying some fun, laughter, and making new friends! Well that is exactly what Queen For a Day volunteers experience at our Garden Parties at Royal Oak’s Pediatric Oncology unit. On June 5th, we spent time with our good friend Mr. Magic, Angelo Briggs, as he made us laugh with his silly lunch bag… that his mom forgot to pack and we needed to find….magically. And who would be the best person to help us find his missing lunch? Well Dora the Explorer (Derek Camponi) of course! Debbie Hormel was joined by Patricia Cody, Barb Dauphinee and two new friends to the QFAD volunteer group, Karen Blazyk and Carol Merrit. Thanks girls for helping to make this a memorable time for everyone! Our time in the Garden Room was full of activities before the magic show. We did tattoos, manicures, played games, decorated picture frames, and of course, had our Queen and Heroes portraits taken complete with crowns, firefighter hats and accessories. With 7 queens being crowned, and 4 Heroes being honored, the time passed quickly. We are looking forward to our Christmas in July Party when, who knows, the Grinch might come visit us! If you would like to join this amazing group of volunteers who are paid with smiles, hugs, and incredible friends, please contact Queen For a Day at www.detroitqfad.com or Debbie Hormel at dchormel@wideopenwest.com. Report for Private visit: June 1, 2007 By Esther Skiba, QFAD Queen for a Day was contacted regarding a young woman named Rosanna. Rosanna is a senior in high school and was just diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was scheduled for surgery to remove the ovary and possibly a kidney on May 21, 10 days before her senior prom. Rosanna was very determined to make it to her prom, QFAD was asked to help, if in fact she was able to attend. On the day of the surgery a 12 lb. cancerous tumor was removed, when the tumor was removed the kidney immediately turned pink and began to function again. The tumor had been lying on the kidney. The day before prom her doctor gave the Ok for her to attend prom. Since none of the volunteer from QFAD is professionals at nails and hair styling, we called Ruth Williams, volunteer and director of Excel Academies of Cosmetology and asked if there would be someone able to help. Student Sarah Heddleston along with teacher Lisa Hall, made the 45-minute trip to Rosanna's home and treated her to an afternoon of pampering. I received an email the day after prom telling me how glamorous Rosanna was and that she received a lot of special attention at prom. A great big thank you to Ruth for always being there to lend a hand, and to Sarah and Lisa for helping make Rosanna's prom something to remember. Queen For a Day May 8, 2007 Our visit to Royal Oak Beaumont’s Pediatric Oncology unit was a magical time for everyone! We held our Queen For a Day event in the beautiful Garden Room where the children and volunteers, enjoyed a very funny magic show by Angelo Briggs. Angelo had the kids laughing as he made hankies vanish and silly hats materialize out of tiny torn pieces of paper. He had all of the kids participate in some way, which helped make the afternoon memorable for everyone. As the magic show ended, Tigger (Derek Camponi), who had lots of giggles and hugs for the kids, made a surprise visit. Our special volunteer for the day was Catie Hormel who was celebrating her 21st birthday on this particular date. Catie was one of the first Queen for a Day teen participants in 2003, when she was undergoing treatment at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Since that time, Catie has been volunteering her time to QFAD in any way she can. We had a wonderful staff of volunteers to help with our fun-filled afternoon: Ronnie Hormel, Nikki Follis, Alanna Shahly, Barb Dauphinee, Patty and Carrie. They helped with our craft of picture frames, applying beautiful make-up, doing nails, and applying tattoos for the boys. We had a table set-up with Shoots –and-Ladders that was a hit with 3 of our young boys, and Ronnie took Polaroid pictures of all the children for their picture frames. We had goodie bags for those who could join us and delivered 2 bags to teens who could not. It was an action packed afternoon that was enjoyed by the volunteers, parents and the children! We are really looking forward to visiting Beaumont again on June 5th! > Beauty Bash IV The 4th annual Beauty Bash was held on April 17, 2007 at the Excel Academies of Cosmetology. If you missed it you truly missed a great time! Volunteer Angie Sanchez, who deserves a round of applause, chaired this year's fundraiser. Angie and her group of volunteers did an amazing job. For a $35.00 donation guests got to choose from a list of salon services including a manicure, pedicure, paraffin dip, hair styling, hair conditioning, a makeup application and facial. Also available were psychic readings, henna tattoos and massages. Our silent auction featured over 70 items donated by QFAD volunteers and community businesses, which raised over $2,000.00 alone. Complimentary, breakfast, lunch and dinner were provided for the guests and students by Knapp's Doughnuts, Einstein's Bagels, Whole Foods, Marinelli's, Mr. Pita, Nino Salvaggio, Costco, Gordon Foods, Cakes by Yvonne, Dunkin Donuts as well as homemade baked goods by QFAD volunteers. Ruth Williams, director of the Excel Academies of Cosmetology, along with her staff and students, donated the venue as well as all the salon services provided to our guests and has done so for all 4 years. Without their generosity Beauty Bash, our chapter's main fundraiser, would not be possible, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts. To Angie, the QFAD volunteers, my husband John, my daughters and grandsons, Beauty Bash guests, that helped in any way, THANK YOU! You are all part of the wonderful QFAD team and it is only with your support that our program is made available to so many children dealing with cancer. Hope to see you at next years Beauty Bash! On Monday, March 19 Nikki Follis lead her first QFAD hospital visit at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. Nikki has taken over the responsibility of this hospital from Maureen Huebel who recently moved to Florida. Volunteers that joined Nikki were Pam Ochoa, Stephanie Oacha, Ina Menza, Holly Chojhowski, Brittany O'Bryan, Jamie Forney. 9 girls and 1 boy came to the activity room and 4 gift bags were sent to rooms for children unable to attend. Several of our volunteers were students from Excel Academies of Cosmetology that treated the girls to professional hair styling, makeup application and nails. These girls were turned into glamour shots for the day! Other activities included decorating picture frames and door hangers. The one little boy, Gino, was able to also make a few foam cars as well. He had a blast in the room with all of the girls too! His twin sister, Gina, was also a patient. St. John's Hospital Visit, February 19, 2007 Jennifer Groomes is the chairperson for St. John's Hospital Nikki Folis and Karen Kloska were my wonderful helpers for the day. We only had one little girl that we could do makeup on and she was the sister of a patient and she went home before we could get a picture! In all we gave out 7 bags, that includes all the room visits (5 Queens and 2 Heroes). And I had one little guy that hung out in the playroom with us to play video games (he is a patient) but he didn’t want much to do with us. I left him a fireman hat and badge anyway! January 22: St. John Hospital On Monday, January 22, 2007 QFAD visited St. John Hospital in Grosse Pointe. Volunteers for the day were Sherry Duquet and Esther Skiba. Our group of guests was small but we had a great time. We visited a 10-year-old girl in her room that had just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's and was feeling down. She received a tiara, a feather boa, a special blanket and a gift bag of items. We had 2 young ladies come to the playroom, a 2 year old and 16 year old that had been in the hospital for 3 weeks and was very bored. Sherry made them beautiful with nail polish and makeup applications, and they moved on to the craft table to make decorated picture frames and door hangers, bracelets. Each girl chose her tiara and boa, then had their picture taken. Each was given a gift bag of fun treats. Our 16-year-old guest stayed in the room to visit the entire time we were there, the small group allowed for us to spend some quality time cheering her up. We also got a chance to visit and get to know Sandy, the St. John Child Specialist and her wonderful group of "Grandmas" that come to the playroom each to visit with the children. There were 4 children that were not well enough for visitors so we made up a package including crafts, tiaras, boas and gift bag that were sent to their room for them to enjoy. Tuesday January 9, 2007: Beaumont Hospital Visit Volunteers for the day were Sara McGregor, Melissa Morgan (Miss Michigan Teen National), Emily Morgan (Miss Michigan Teen Sweetheart) Liz Morgan, Josie Byrd and Jennifer Groomes. We had 4 patients in the Children's Garden-2 young ladies and 2 Heroes. Jennifer did one personal room visit and had 2 other room visits that were not up for company, but happily accepted a gift bag, so 7 children in total. The ward was actually full, but most of the children were very little, to sick for company or to leave their room. We did photo frames, door hangers and some nice sports related crafts for the boys. (In March we will be decorating cookies and shamrocks!). The ladies looked lovely with their freshly painted nails and pretty lipstick!