Cabaret for a Cure: Performing to Fight Childhood Cancer

Written by Guest Blogger, Michele Colosi

Cabaret for a CureA couple of years ago a friend of mine lost her daughter to cancer. She was 4 years old, and it was days from diagnosis to her passing. This news hit me not only as her friend, but as a parent and human being. How could something like this happen? I felt compelled to take action. I wanted to do something to help, but wasn’t sure what to do.

One day it came to me. My friend is a fellow performer and so I thought, why not put on a show in memory of her little girl and to raise money for one of her favorite charities? I could gather some of our other performer friends and put together a musical revue show with all proceeds going to the charity of her choice. I asked her some suggestions on who to donate to, as I wanted to make sure it was an organization that would use the money properly, and at the top of the list was CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. I researched the organization, and as I read through some of the statistics and information, I became even more passionate. How could a four-and-a-half-month-old be diagnosed with cancer? What must that family have gone through? It was all so unimaginable.

I set to work putting together the show and pulling together a cast and crew. We did our first Cabaret for a Cure on January 10, 2015 with a cast of both adults and kids, and it was a great success! It went so well, that I decided I would like to do it again this year. We performed our second Cabaret for a Cure on September 10, 2016. Each event was intended to be child and family friendly.

Cabaret for a CureSince we are raising money for children’s cancer research, I wanted to make sure that children felt welcome at our event and that they would have a good time, but that the adults would be entertained as well. This year’s theme piggy backed off of CureSearch’s theme that “Every Hero Needs a Sidekick.” We challenged audiences to “Be a Hero!” and to help fight childhood cancer.

Twenty-two professional and community performers came together to sing and dance a variety of songs all either about heroes, or sung by heroic characters, including “Zero to Hero” from Hercules, “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from The Lion King, “Seize the Day” from Newsies and more! Fairytale Friend Parties by Kirko Productions, one of our sponsors, also donated some of their superhero and princess character friends to come meet and greet with our audience members during the post show dessert reception. It was a wonderful night, and we were able to raise almost $3,000 for CureSearch!

Watch this video to learn more about the event:


In addition to this awesome event, we also performed for some of the patients at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Cabaret for a CureI am so grateful to all who supported our event, from patrons, to sponsors, to donors! No child or family should ever have to deal with cancer. Even if the cancer is beaten, the effects of the treatments on these kids follows them into adulthood and that is unacceptable.

The moral that I wanted people to walk away with from our show this year was that “anyone can be a hero to a person in need.” I hope that you, reading this, will find a way to “Be a Hero!” and help support the many children and their families going through the unfathomable. No matter how small of an act or a donation, every bit counts! Together we can be a voice for the children who need our help, some of which are so young they can’t even speak for themselves! Together we can offer support to the families who are battling for the lives of their children! Together we can make a difference!

To become a hero and help make a difference, or to start your own version of Cabaret for a Cure, join CureSearch Gold.

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