Kosair Charities lets dreams soar

Carla Sue Broecker | August 24, 2011

Kosair Charities board of directors Chairman Jerry Ward held his grandson, Matthew Ward, during the finale of Dreams Take Flight.

Last Saturday, Kosair Charities hosted Dreams Take Flight, a gala of gifts and grants, a black-tie affair where children in need were the primary honored guests.

Kosair Charities President Randy Coe and board Chairman Jerry Ward opened the evening with a parade of silent messengers. A Shriner accompanied a child from each of the multitude of charities it supports.

There was an adorable tiny girl in a fluffy white party dress pushing a walker. She has spina bifida, golden curls and a smile that melts your heart. There were children with cystic fibrosis, deafness, Down syndrome, congenital heart defects, epilepsy and on and on.

After dinner, dozens of charities and organizations were awarded $18 million from the Kosair Charities program called Dreams Take Flight! That’s $18 million this year from 2,600 Kosair Shriners and thousands of generous donors. More than $318 million has been given over the years.

Three individual awards were presented. The Roger Fox award was given to Dr. Mary Fallat for her dedication to children. She is the chief of pediatric surgery at Kosair Hospital.

Suzanne Wright and Sam Swope.

U of L President Dr. James Ramsey received the Sam Swope Community Leadership Award.

And Dr. Laman Gray received the Humanitarian Award for having a national and global impact in medicine. Gray received $5 million for his pediatric cardiac research.

The grants went to organizations such as the American Community Center, Brooklawn, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Family Scholar House, Heuser Hearing & Language Academy, Summit Academy, Kosair Children’s Hospital and on and on.

It was an exciting and thrilling evening, and there was hardly a dry eye in the place. You just might think about leaving some money in your will to Kosair Charities. It will be an investment that will pay off for years to come. And it will help a child to thrive.

ROYAL COURT

The Kentucky Derby Festival is now accepting applications for its Royal Court.

The Royal Court is coordinated by The Fillies Inc. Applications and requirements are available at www.kdf.org.

The princesses will act as ambassadors representing the community at Derby Festival events. They will enjoy various TV and radio appearances, receive $2,000 in scholarships, special sponsor gifts and attend The Fillies Derby Ball, where one will be crowned Queen for 2012.

It is a marvelous experience for a young lady.