Hope to host Taste of Mardi Gras

Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital, in Oak Lawn, will host A Taste of Mardi Gras, filled with food, music and surprises, for guests supporting the children’s hospital at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show’s First Look for Charity on Thursday, Feb. 11. The annual black-tie affair is one of Chicagoland’s largest single-day charity events, offering supporters an opulent backstage pass to preview the hottest and newest automobiles and concept cars before the Chicago Auto Show opens to the public.

Held at Chicago’s McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, the event will feature more than 1,000 new vehicles—some on display for the very first time anywhere— at the Chicago Auto Show. This year, one lucky attendee will drive away in a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox.

Hope Children’s Hospital is one of 18 charitable organizations to benefit from the event, which is presented by the Chicago Automobile Trade Association.

Gifts donated this year will support a five-bed expansion at Hope Children’s Hospital. “As a 69-bed hospital, Hope consistently operates at capacity and with the recent addition of four new general surgeons, a neurosurgeon and a full orthopedic team, we are now positioned to provide even more specialized care to meet the needs of the growing pediatric population in the Southland,” said Anedra Kerr, vice president of development at Hope Children’s Hospital.

Last year’s First Look for Charity event raised more than $100,000 to support special programs at Hope Children’s Hospital, including a new collaboration with the Snow City Arts Foundation, a youth program exclusively focused on providing arts education within a hospital setting. The partnership offers children a unique opportunity to engage in creative writing, music and visual arts during their hospital stay.

“We look forward to First Look for Charity every year because it is truly an event that keeps on giving,” said Kerr. “The unwavering resources provided by the Chicago Automobile Trade Association and the enormous generosity of those who attend are priceless for the thousands of children who benefit from all of the services their support provides.”

First Look for Charity will begin at 6:30 p.m. and continue until 10:30 p.m. A drawing for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox will be held at 8:30 p.m. (the winner must be present to win). Individual tickets are $225, a portion of which is tax-deductible. Sponsorships are also available. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Sarah Nassin at (708) 684- 5231.

This is part of the February 3, 2010 online edition of The Beverly Review.

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