How did “Dine For A Cure” turn out? Well, it was fantastic!! The event took place at JUN'S Japanese Restaurant, Colorado Springs, CO. The day started out with an introduction from Jun. Amanda from the Colorado Bone Marrow Donor Program was there to help get new donors registered. I started out with a somewhat short (although I probably went on and on more than I should have) power point presentation to highlight Liam’s story, what HLH is, what the foundation’s all about, what our present and future goals are, and how everyone can help. To say I was nervous was an understatement, but I knew what had to be done. I spoke about the importance of becoming a bone marrow and blood donor and what is involved in the processes. After the presentation concluded, the meal began. We had a great turn out and what a meal! It was so good I have to tell you all about it. There were 6 courses plus dessert. The first course was miso soup and a cold Japanese noodle salad paired with Nigori unfiltered sake. For those of you who do not know what sake is, it is a rice wine and is so good! The second course was a sushi roll appetizer paired with Holy Cross (winery here in Colorado) Reisling. The third course was Roy’s tuna tower paired with Masumi cold sake. The fourth course was pork chashu paired with Turner Road Shiraz. The fifth course was Kobe steak paired with Umensishki cold sake. If that wasn’t enough, the sixth course was Butterfish. By this time, everyone was drooling (not literally of course) as the food was just phenomenal! I have never had butterfish before and I just have to say, WOW! It was so juicy and tender and almost melts in your mouth. People couldn’t stop talking about everything that was served. Each course was preceded by the chef coming out and explaining what everything was and how it was prepared, which added such class and elegance to this dining experience. (Gee, do you think I could be a food critic or what?) Definitely worth the money since $30.00 of everyone’s cost was donated to the foundation and is tax deductible. Finally, the dessert was a sushi style dessert roll consisting mostly of fruit (strawberries, bananas, avocado) and chocolate paired with Choya plum wine. It looked just like a regular sushi roll. Absolute perfection! Many people were asking Jun if it was on the regular menu and he said that it was a new item and will be added to the menu, but they haven’t come up with a name for it yet. HERE IT IS. THE BEST NEWS YET… Apparently, many people had suggested he name it LIAM’S ROLL, and so, it is now named LIAM’S ROLL on the menu!! Thank you, Jun, for honoring our precious son! Anyway, two of the people who joined us were the owners of Dance Colorado, specializing in Ballroom and Latin partnership dancing. We turned up the music and they did a little presentation for us which was amazing! Definitely wouldn’t mind going and taking those classes (hopefully I can get Chris to go)! We met some very wonderful people and made new friendships. The event was a success and I can’t thank everyone enough for coming and supporting liam’s lighthouse foundation, especially Jun and his staff for doing such a remarkable job! I was honestly craving Jun’s food the very next day! Here are some photos from “Dine For A Cure”:
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I would like to thank 2 amazing mothers for their generous donation totaling $600 to liam’s lighthouse foundation! Kellie Copp (daughter Kaylee), and Jennifer Mercereau (daughter Taylor), had separate fundraiser birthday parties for their daughters resulting in a selfless, wonderful donation for the foundation. Thank you so much for doing this! What a nice surprise to receive these generous donations! Thank you so much for your continued support and for raising awareness of HLH and histiocytosis!
ST BALDRICK’S A HUGE SUCCESS!
Dan Jarkiewicz, Ally’s daddy (caringbridge: allyjark)(also HLH), shaved his head to honor and raise money for the St. Baldrick’s foundation. Although HLH is not cancer, it is treated much the same. St. Baldrick’s raises money for childhood cancer research. This year at Dan’s event in MD, the event raised about $87,000! Absolutely amazing! Liam, as well as a few other HLH warriors were honored. Thank you to those who donated in Liam's honor and memory. Liam was also honored by the following shavees: Meghann Cicola, Sara Rawe, David Motley, Virginia V., Samantha B., and Liam Collins. Thank you all so much! Rochelle Wilkinson was able to attend with her kids and took the following photos. Rochelle’s 5 year old son, Nate, is in the photo with the green mohawk. She is also in one of the pics with Dan and Beth (Ally’s mom and dad).
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