Press Release announces: Kids & Art Charity Auction Sept. 19 at Palo Alto Art Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: [email protected]

Kids & Art Foundation to Host Charity Auction Sept. 19 at Palo Alto Art Center

Proceeds Benefit Arts Programs for Families Fighting Pediatric Cancer

Burlingame, Calif., July 31, 2015 – The Kids & Art Foundation will host Le Cirque de la Vie Charity Auction Soirée at the Palo Alto Art Center on September 19, 2015, raising funds to provide therapeutic arts programs for families fighting pediatric cancer. The public is invited to preview selected art – much donated by renowned local artists – on exhibit starting September 2 at the Palo Alto Art Center, located at 1313 Newell Road in Palo Alto. The artwork will be among the items available for bid at the fundraiser. Works include pieces created by local artists collaborating with Bay Area children enrolled in Kids & Art workshops.

Guests will participate in a silent auction using 501auction.com/kidsandartorg an auction service chosen for its mobile bidding feature that allows on-site bidding via smartphone or tablet access, as well as remote bidding. The auction will feature high-interest leisure and luxury items, such as one-of-a-kind tours, sports and spa experiences, as well as goods donated by local food and wine makers and other businesses in the community.

The evening will begin with a festive happy hour featuring hors d'oeuvres and aperitifs, ambient circus performers, musical entertainment and the auction pop-up gallery. The cirque theme salutes not only the wide-eyed wonder of circus entertainment, but it also evokes the circus feeling families may experience in their daily lives once a cancer diagnosis is made.

Performers from The Circus Center and The Medical Clown Project will join Master Blaster G, THE SF TRUMPET KID, singer Katherine Park and other musical performers. Spend time mingling with local artists and entertainers who work within the Kids & Art community, some of whom have donated great selections from their portfolios to be auctioned. To date, original artworks have been donated by Brendan Murphy, Rinat Goren, Charu Clark, Neta Levi, and Ginger Slonaker. We will also hear from Honorary Auction Chairs Sheri Sobrato Brisson and Bianca Velishek. Kristen Sze, ABC7 News Anchor, will serve as guest emcee for the event.

Proceeds will support Kids & Art’s new lineup of art workshops and other activities planned for the 2015-16 season. It is also expanding its programs in two children’s hospitals, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Packard at El Camino Hospital (PEC) in Mountain View. Volunteer artists will spend time with children at these facilities, easing anxiety as they wait for procedures, blood draws, clinical visits, consultations, and recovery from day treatment. Their goal is to increase their ability to cope with their ongoing treatments on-site at the hospital. In the case of children who are quarantined while in active treatment, they are there to provide interaction and distraction in the face of uncertainty.

Kids & Art workshops are provided to families free of charge. Children ages 2-18 and their entire caregiver circle, including any best friends, siblings or grandparents can participate. Kids & Art provides complementary care in tandem with other forms of treatment to more than 1,500 children touched by cancer, as well as to their families. The organization strongly feels that to raise the spirits of these children and their care circles has a healing effect on mind and body. Some in-house terms used by the organization include phrases like: focus on the now; empower the child; and, heal the whole child to refer to this healing effect.

Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children and adolescents in the United States (National Cancer Institute). According to the American Cancer Society, cancer creates a crisis in the life of each family member: caregivers, the patient, and siblings.

To buy tickets or bid on the auction, go to 501auction.com/kidsandartorg.

About Kids & Art Kids & Art is a 501(c)(3) organization based out of Burlingame, California, committed to offering the intrinsic healing power of the creative process of art making to children and families dealing with cancer. Under the guidance of caring Bay Area artists, children make art and some donate their artwork to a yearly auction to raise funds to sustain the Foundation and provide additional funds for cancer research. Kids & Art was founded in 2008 by Purvi Shah, who now serves as its executive director. She is the mother of Amaey Shah, who died after battling against acute lymphoblastic leukemia for six of his nine years. Kids & Art Foundation grew from her son’s love of participating in art making throughout the course of his life.