Lights, Camera, Action: Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan Announces Hollywood Nights

May 20, 2013 - PRLog -- Grand Rapids, Michigan, May 20, 2013 – Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan has announced a Hollywood Nights 24-hour movie marathon fundraiser to support the patients and families in West Michigan.

The Hollywood Nights fundraiser has been a box-office hit for more than 10  years in Southeast Michigan. The West Michigan debut, sponsored by Metro Health Hospital and Celebration! Cinema, will be held June 21 – 22 at Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids North, 2121 Celebration Dr., NE in Grand Rapids.

“We are so pleased to bring some ‘movie magic’ to West Michigan with this fun, family-friendly event,” said William Seklar, president and CEO.  “Funds raised will go to support the work being done from our new Grand Rapids office, which provides information, financial assistance and emotional support to nearly 800 families across West Michigan.

“More than half the clients we serve are at or below the poverty level, requiring them to make tough decisions about already-stretched financial resources.  All CLF programs and services are free, which
makes fundraising efforts like Movie Marathon and our other events extremely important.  We hope West Michigan will come out, enjoy the show and help raise funds for a great cause.”

Participants who raise more than $100 in pledges by June 21 are invited to participate in the event, which will feature:
• A 24-hour movie marathon featuring admission to all first-run movies currently screening at Celebration
• Unlimited popcorn and soft drinks, along with a “swag bag” full of candy and other goodies
• Prizes for the top three fundraisers
• Red carpet photos
• Lunch and dinner on June 21, a midnight snack and a continental breakfast on June 22
• Choose-your-own raffle
• Stay-and-play package available at Riverfront Hotel

Check in for the fundraiser will begin at 9:30 a.m. on June 21, with show times beginning at 10 a.m.  Register for the event and find out more at http://leukemiamichigan.org/.  Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Hollywood Nights is the second fundraiser CLF will hold in West Michigan. The first, CRUSH Grand Rapids, also raised funds for CLF’s West Michigan office. Like the CRUSH event, all proceeds from the Hollywood Nights fundraiser will stay in West Michigan to serve local families and individuals.

Earlier this year, CLF announced plans to open a Grand Rapids office to better serve the needs of patients and families in West Michigan.  Approximately 20 percent of its 4,400 Michigan families live in West Michigan – the organization’s highest concentration outside of Southeast Michigan.  The new office, located in suite 810 of McKay Tower in downtown Grand Rapids, opened in early May.

The new office will allow CLF to better address the growing needs of West Michigan families.  It will serve as a West Michigan base for the non-profit, which provides casework support, financial assistance, and respite and recreational programs to Michigan families affected by leukemia, lymphoma and related blood cancers.  

A grassroots organization to its core, CLF was founded in Detroit in 1952 by a group of families who had each lost a child to leukemia.  They were determined no other Michigan family should have to face such a diagnosis alone.  

For every $1 donated to CLF, approximately 83 cents goes directly to patient and family programs and services.

About Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan
Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan is a non-profit organization that provides information, financial assistance and emotional support to Michigan families affected by leukemia, lymphoma and related blood cancers. Each year, CLF provides programs and services to more than 4,400 families throughout the state, approximately 20 percent of them from West Michigan, the highest concentration of patients and families outside of Southeast Michigan.  For more information, visit www.leukemiamichigan.org.