The Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley raised $350,000 at its 2026 Hearts of Gold Gala recently. In a ballroom filled to capacity, nearly 350 guests and supporters enjoyed cocktails, dinner, dancing and a live auction of children\u2019s artwork conducted by auctioneer Jason Douglas Houser.<\/p>\n
The not-for-profit\u2019s sold-out fundraiser was again hosted at the Centennial Catering and Conference Center in Center Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe building that we purchased in 2024 has been transforming before our eyes into a true home for our local pediatric cancer community,\u201d PCFLV Executive Director Michelle Zenie Rounds said. The new addition will serve as a \u201cfamily room\u201d where they all can gather to \u201csmile together, laugh together, even cry together.\u201d<\/p>\n
She encouraged attendees to donate to the capital campaign \u201cto bring that space to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zenie Rounds listed 35 children facing a new cancer diagnosis and four children experiencing relapses. Another child recently received a secondary cancer diagnosis. (Since that evening, there has been an additional death, and another new cancer diagnosis reported by PCFLV.)<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, we\u2019ve had to embrace three families who lost children this year,\u201d Rounds said. The patients who lost their battles against cancer were Riley at age 13, Penny at 19 and Seana at 25.<\/p>\n
Emceeing the gala were real estate broker Ryan Dietrick and Lehigh Valley Sports Turf owner Jeanie DiFulvio.<\/p>\n
Guest speaker Andrew Ellis, paid loving tribute to his 15-year-old son, Jacob Ellis who lost his battle with Rhabdomyosarcoma June 19, 2024. The Upper Macungie Township resident described how the rapidly-advancing cancer was diagnosed in February 2024 when Jacob began suffering from excruciating back pain. This rare type of cancer starts as a growth of cells in soft tissue and primarily affects children and teens.<\/p>\n
Jacob was described as a \u201cthrill seeker\u201d who enjoyed skiing and especially riding roller coasters. He also \u201cloved to build things\u201d with his 3D printer and laser engraver. Ellis related how his late son was a Cubs fan and an avid dog lover who adored his family\u2019s adopted and fostered rescue dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur first encounter with PCFLV was during Jacob\u2019s first outpatient chemo appointment at the clinic,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cThey gave us a \u2018journey bag,\u2019 a canvas tote bag embroidered with the PCFLV logo and the words \u201cWarrior Family\u201d on it.\u201d Ellis was grateful for the comfort items, gift cards and helpful information stuffed in the bag. He spoke about the grief counseling available through PCFLV to his family and others who lost their young loved ones to cancer. \u201cEven though Jacob is no longer with us, our pediatric cancer journey continues and PCFLV continues to walk alongside us providing strength and hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRoller Coaster of Cancer,\u201d a mosaic created by Ellis\u2019 16-year-old daughter, Lilah in memory of her brother Jacob, fetched $21,000 as auctioneer Jason Douglas Houser started the bidding during the evening\u2019s live art auction. The winning bid was awarded to Ross Born, who retired as CEO of Just Born in 2021. It was the most paid for an auction item that evening. Born and his wife Wendy are the maternal grandparents of Lilah and Jacob.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Heart of a Warrior Award was bestowed upon Anne Baum for her continued support of families affected by pediatric cancer. The inaugural president of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children\u2019s Hospital stepped down from her position in October 2025.<\/p>\n
Hellertown-based trio, GT3 Jazz Standards provided musical entertainment.<\/p>\n
Representing the presenting sponsor, Lehigh Valley Reilly Children\u2019s Hospital, part of Jefferson Health, Dr. Nathan Hagstrom, welcomed attendees as they sat down to dinner.<\/p>\n
Among the additional sponsors for the evening\u2019s event were Rob and Kristen Bennett, Teamsters Local No. 773, FGX Creative, Ai Orthodontics, Structural Metal Fabricators, New Heights Roofing LLC, Jaindl Family of Companies, AmericaVen, Deitrick Real Estate and Mercer Advisors.<\/p>\n
The Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley provides free programming and services to local children with cancer and their families.<\/p>\n
The PCFLV 2026 Luau On The Links Golf Outing scholarship fund fundraiser is scheduled May 15.<\/p>\n
PCFLV is located at 4501 Crackersport Road, Allentown. For information call 484-221-9294 or visit pcflv.org.<\/p>\n
LEFT: Volunteering as greeters at the 2026 Hearts of Gold Gala are, from left, Isabelle Takacs, Owen Wilt, Jameson Gross, Bryce Bennett and Jameson Tremmel. Standing behind the group of youngsters is PCFLV Program and Services Manager Kristine Buss.Press photos by Ed Courrier<\/p>\n
ABOVE: At right, Anne Baum, former president of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children\u2019s Hospital, expresses gratitude after being presented with the 2026 Heart of a Warrior Award by PCFLV Executive Director Michelle Zenie Rounds.<\/p>\n
At center, Schnecksville residents Kelly and Brandon Albert score the winning bid of $6,000 for Brynlee Schneider\u2019s \u201cWings of Hope\u201d during the evening\u2019s art auction. Flanking them are Brynlee\u2019s parents, Mike Schneider and Tia Weaver from Allen Township. Brynlee\u2019s mosaic was created in memory of her sister, Kylie, who died from a brain tumor in December 2024 at just 14 months old.<\/p>\n
As event volunteers, Moravian University freshman Andrew Hoopes and West Chester University senior Kyra Stauffer offer wrapped wine bottles at the PCFLV event\u2019s wine pull.<\/p>\n
Hellertown-based trio, GT3 Jazz Standards provides musical entertainment at the 2026 Hearts of Gold Gala. From left are Dave Antonow on bass, founder and drummer George Torrella and Neil McNamara on guitar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley raised $350,000 at its 2026 Hearts of Gold Gala recently.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-187200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}