The Event: The 22nd annual Bear Tie Ball drew growls of delight from 650 guests gathered at Chicago’s Union Station in order to raise money for Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation on Feb. 28.
Founded in 1992 by Kathleen A. Casey whose son, Barrett “Bear” Krupa, died after a five-and-a-half-year battle with cancer, to date BNPCF raised more than $17.5 million dollars for research and helping to grant special wishes for children aged 0-19 battling cancer.
Cause célebre: “This is a labor of love, you can’t say ‘no’ to kids with cancer,” said Nina Mariano of Inverness, event chairman. “Children are our most precious resource and less than four percent of federal dollars allocated for cancer research goes to kids,” she explained.
Ken Moll of Northbrook understands only too well the need for organizations such as BNPCF. “At five months old our kid at had Wilms tumor,” said Moll. “We were fortunate that our child survived, unlike Kathy’s (Casey, the founder) so any time we can give back and contribute to this organization, we do,” said Moll.
Through their Bear Hugs initiative, BNPCF fulfills experiences for 400 children with cancer each year.
“I support Bear Necessities because we take care of children for a brighter day,” Tracy Scurto of Barrington Hills, long-time board member. “We support cancer research for the nation.”
Bottom line: The event raised $760,000 for Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation.