Sharing joy with special needs children
Margaritaville
Resort Casino and Tia’s Hope Foundation are proud to present the fourth
annual “Once Upon a Time” Memories Dance for special needs children.
This formal ball will be held at 6 p.m. on June 8 at Shriners Temple,
6230 S. Lakeshore Drive in Shreveport.
Children
ages 5-25 with special needs are invited to attend. Shriners Hospitals
for Children-Shreveport will also be transporting their in-house
patients for a fun night away from the hospital.
Squires
will lend their tuxedos and staff to dress the boys in style, while the
girls attending will get to “shop” for their favorite dress from
donations made from the community. Alterations will be provided if
needed.
On
the day of the ball, all participating girls are invited to the
“Memories Beauty Shop” at Shriners Hospital, where local hair stylists,
nail techs and makeup artists from Roots and Boots Salon, Nails of Grace
and the Spa & Salon at Margaritaville will volunteer their
services.
Ashley
Henning, an executive assistant at Margaritaville Resort and Casino and
Shreveport-Bossier ambassador for the Tia’s Hope Foundation, is excited
about the event. “I’m most looking forward to seeing the joy on the
children’s faces. They have an incredible time every year,” Henning
said. “I’ve had the honor of meeting some courageous children faced with
crippling illnesses, and even though it was just for a few hours, I was
able to help them forget about their challenges. These families have
humbled me in ways I can never explain, and I am forever grateful.”
The
dance will feature music, dancing, crafts, video games provided by
Bayou Xtreme Gaming, face painting by Becky Meziere and more. The
national award-winning NWLA UberGeeks Cosplay Team will be there to
dance the night away in their best fairy tale, Disney and comic book
character costumes.
The Tia’s Hope
Foundation was founded in honor of Tia Palermo, who was diagnosed with
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2001 and bravely battled the disease for over a
decade. “Tia always felt that there should be something special for
children who had to spend a part of their youths in the hospital,”
Henning said. “She took great joy in sharing special experiences, or, as
she called them, ‘memory moments.’ ”
With
that in mind, Tia’s Hope was established by Tia’s family to honor her
wish. “Margaritaville is a proud sponsor of Tia’s Hope, contributing an
annual donation of $75,000 for the foundation’s efforts in creating ‘memory moments,’” Henning said.
In
2016, El Karubah Shriners potentate Jerry DeFatta and Henning came
together and created the “Memories in the Moonlight Dance.”
“For
the children participating, it allows them to forget about the
challenges of everyday life and live in a moment of joy,” Henning said.
“It
also allows them to meet other children who may be facing the same
issues and create a lasting friendship. It’s truly a magical event that
they will remember forever.”
Parents
must attend the dance with their child. There will be a designated
drop-off location for the kids, where they will be picked up by a limo
provided by Rose-Neath Funeral Home, and dropped off at the red-carpet
entrance for a grand arrival. Volunteers with the El Karubah Shriners,
Margaritaville Resort Casino, and the 307th Bomb of Barksdale Air Force
Base will assist with this year’s event.
Tia’s
Hope is always in need of new and gently used formal wear attire. Those
interested in donating to the foundation can do so at https://tiashope.org/.
People can also give to the cause by shopping on Amazon through the
Amazon Smile program: Choose Tia’s Hope as a foundation of choice.
Tickets are free. For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/wedanceforhope/.
