By: Stacey Bomser | December 17, 2025 | 5 min. read |
The Heidi Hewes Chapter of the Woman’s Cancer Association hosted its annual Home for the Holidays Walk and Tour to benefit cancer research, education and patient care.
For more than 30 years, the Miami Shores community has welcomed in the holiday season with the annual Home for the Holidays Walk and Tour presented by the Heidi Hewes Chapter of the Woman’s Cancer Association of the University of Miami (WCA). The festive event raises funds to support cancer research, education and patient care at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, a part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and South Florida’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
“The Home for the Holidays Walk and Tour is a longstanding tradition in Miami Shores, an event families, friends and neighbors look forward to each year,” said Holiday Home Tour Co-Chair Cristina Butler, who also serves as co-president of the Heidi Hewes Chapter of the WCA, a 100% volunteer-led organization. “It feels very much like a neighborhood holiday party, with people gathering outside of the featured homes to socialize.”
Celebrate the Season
This year there were five homes on the tour, each beautifully decorated for the holidays. As they moved from house to house, guests were served wine, cheese, cookies, coffee and other homemade treats and enjoyed live entertainment, including musicians playing the bass and trumpet and a youth orchestra string quartet, along with a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Miami Shore residents opened their homes for the Heidi Hewes Home for the Holidays Walk and Tour.
This year’s tour also featured a pop-up Bargain Box shop, which is WCA’s thrift store.
Butler says there are no specific prerequisites for homes to be chosen. Rather, the committee looks for quintessential Miami Shores homes that express the city’s charm. The home could be architecturally interesting, historic, newly renovated or a place where homeowners collect something unique.
As a child, Butler treasured attending the tour with her mother and her mother’s friends. She recalled the excitement of having her parents’ house featured and has also opened the door to her home for the tour.
Support for Sylvester Scientists
The annual Home for the Holidays Walk and Tour is the Heidi Hewes Chapter’s main fundraiser. Its namesake was born and raised in Miami Shores. She was diagnosed with melanoma during her senior year of high school and passed away in 1971 at the age of 17.
Past President Nora Tenney says the sold-out event was started 33 years ago by former chapter president, Jane Hinterkopf, who passed earlier this year. The event raises more than $60,000 each year to support cancer research at Sylvester.
The WCA awards grants to Sylvester’s renowned physician-scientists each year to pursue innovative research. Tour attendees had the opportunity to speak with one of these grant recipients about his work. Anis Ahmad, M.D., an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the Miller School, was awarded the Woman’s Cancer Association Pediatric Grant for his research on how to prevent radiation-induced nephrotoxicity in pediatric cancer survivors.
Prolific Partner
Since its founding in 1959, the Woman’s Cancer Association has remained steadfast in its mission to support cancer research, education and patient care, having donated more than $15 million to Sylvester.
“While the holidays are certainly a time for giving, the generosity of the Woman’s Cancer Association is evident throughout the year,” said Stephen Nimer, M.D., director of Sylvester, the Oscar de La Renta Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and executive dean for research at the Miller School. “The funds they raise through community-minded events such as the Holiday Home Tour help fuel the progress that leads to earlier detection, more precise treatments and better care for our community.”
Tags: cancer research, Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Stephen Nimer, fundraising, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Woman’s Cancer Association