This is where Armida Kersey comes in. She is the Executive Director of Candlelighters and has dedicated her personal and professional life to running this non-profit organization and giving a much needed break to these children and their families. All year long there are fundraisers and donation drives happening all over the Inland Empire, raising money and gathering supplies.
This money is not for research or for treatment but is specifically geared towards helping the family unit as a whole while the child is fighting for their lives. Imagine the stress of this situation and add on top of that the inability to afford housing near the hospital, gas to get to and from the hospital, or even Christmas gifts during the time of year when the normalcy of family and cheer is most important. Fortunately, Armida and her Foundation is here to help.
Much like the Ronald McDonald house, Candlelighters has a three-suite house offered to parents whose children have been admitted to Loma Linda University Medical Center. They give vouchers for gas and food as well. Each child, upon being admitted to the hospital, is given a gift, often a stuffed animal, to keep them company and make their stay a little brighter. Over 90% of their profits go to the families, which is a pretty amazing number considering most charitable organizations put over 20% of their earnings back into fundraising. It would seem as though the Inland Empire, while facing a difficult economic downturn, is still able to support such a worthy cause.
Candlelighters also organizes family picnics in the summer and other similar events throughout the year but their biggest and most spectacular act of giving takes the form of a large scale Christmas party each December. The Candlelighters Christmas party involves hundred of families, those who have a child currently seeking care, those that have recovered, and those who have undergone the heartbreaking experience of losing a child to cancer. All are welcome and all find hope and encouragement in one another. Each child is given a gift, even siblings, which amounts to the grand total of over 400 gifts each year! Even Santa is there to pass out the gifts and greet each child. There is food, booths, crafts, toys, and limitless fun to be had. The event is taking place this year on December 6th and, like every year since I was 12, I’ll be there making (or trying to make) balloon animals for the children. It’s a blessing to see so many smiling faces year after year.
Back to Armida. Candlelighters is a national foundation that’s been around for some time but Armida founded the Inland Empire chapter 25 years ago. She did so strictly on a volunteer basis for over 15 years, without pay. However, for the past decade, Armida has had the opportunity to fulfill a dream by making this her full-time job. She is now able to dedicate herself completely to helping families during a most trying time.
She began this organization out of personal experience. When her son was a young child he was diagnosed with cancer and she experienced first-hand the difficulties of making sure her family was taken care of while they battled with their son’s disease. She wanted to make sure that other families were given stress-free solutions to basic problems that seem so unfair when something as serious and looming as cancer is hanging over their heads. Her son is now well, in his thirties, and a thriving veterinarian.
Armida is a positive influence on her community and we can all learn from her and her drive to make people’s lives a little better, especially when tragedy strikes. It is obvious that this is a real passion for her and I imagine that she will continue to help families in the Inland Empire for years to come.
-Age
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