The Lollipop Kids Foundation To Hold Second Annual Charity Gala

Online, September 1, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The Lollipop Kids Foundation, a group established to help families with disabilities, will hold their second fundraising gala on Thursday, October 6th, 2011.

The Gala's theme is "Celebrate Hope." The Lollipop Kids Foundation believes that even when disabilities have no cure, hope sustains, motivates and enriches outcomes. Hope allows each one of us the ability to resist hopelessness and "giving up" - to keep going in the midst of what may seem insurmountable circumstances.

Foundation Founder and Executive Director, Debbie Sahlin, believes that "hope is a choice and once it is chosen, it allows the family, parent and child with disabilities to truly live, regardless of the diagnosis or the odds." Debbie wants to use her experience raising a child with a disability to "inspire families to live life to the fullest."

We are pleased to announce that our keynote speaker for the event will be Ms. Wheelchair America 2005, Juliette Rizzo of Maryland. Ms. Rizzo has covered and coordinated national news stories as a journalist, carried the Olympic torch, and realized many of her other personal dreams and goals. Juliette empowers Americans with disabilities though her Ms. Wheelchair platform, "Power through Participation: Illuminating Opportunities for People with Disabilities." She believes that community participation is more than having a physical presence; it is also about finding your identity through your involvement and personal contribution to community life.
Works of original art handcrafted by children with disabilities will be the centerpiece of the Gala, many of them featuring the Lollipop Kids Foundation's guiding principles of "Love, Faith, Hope." Funds raised from their sale will benefit our therapeutic swim and respite care programs for children with disabilities.

WHAT: Open Press Gala (hors d'oeuvres and cocktails)
WHO: The Lollipop Kids Foundation
WHEN: Thursday, October 6, 6:00-10:00pm
WHERE: The Carnegie Institution for Science, 1530 P Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005
RSVP: Members of the press who wish to attend the event should contact Debbie Sahlin at (202) 365-1160