Published: September 17, 2009 05:10 pm      

Heartbeats of Hope celebrates 10 years, hosts Tables of Hope

Vidor-based Heartbeats of Hope, founded in 1999 in memory of Vidor teen Katie Pittman, who lost her life to leukemia that year, will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Oct. 3 with Tables of Hope, an annual fundraiser designed to benefit local children and youth with cancer.

According to director Sally Andrews, the event raises funds to continue the work of the organization, which pays for transportation, medical bills, rent, groceries, and utilities for local families whose children are suffering from cancer or other blood-related diseases.

“We are currently serving families in Vidor, Kountze, Lumberton, Groves, and Beaumont,” says Andrews. “There are local families who are not only under the burden of their child’s cancer diagnosis, but who have had to leave jobs to care for those kids or who are traveling to Houston or Galveston several times a week. Heartbeats of Hope tries to lighten the load as much as possible for these folks.”

In addition, the group’s youth team and board members travel to Texas Children’s Hospital three times a year to take gifts to children and youth with cancer, and to take baskets of goodies to kids who are in isolation on the bone marrow transplant unit.

“When Katie had her bone marrow transplant in 1998, she was in an isolation room for four months. That was a pretty bleak time, with no visitors and not a lot to do,” says Andrews. “When she was able to get out, she worried about kids who would have to spend Christmas in that situation. So she collected money from friends and church members, created laundry baskets tailor-made for each child on the fifteen-bed transplant unit, and delivered them herself. After she passed away in July of 1999, her friends and family took up the torch and have been going ever since.”

The group has also provided nearly $30,000 in college scholarships to Vidor High School graduates since that time, each year offering a scholarship to a senior with outstanding service and one to a graduate who has had a challenge to face or an obstacle to overcome.

“The funds from Tables of Hope go to support all of these ministries,” Andrews states.

Tables of Hope is open to the public, but Andrews recommends purchasing tickets in advance.

“Tables are almost always completely sold out,” she says. “It’s a fun event. People can purchase an entire table for six people and decorate it themselves in their own theme. Or they can simply purchase a ticket for $15 and sit at a table decorated by someone else. It’s always fun to see how folks decorate their tables.”

Past themes have ranged from the South Texas State Fair to fiestas, 50s, music, and the beach. Pirates, Longhorns, and Astros tables have been seen, as well as fall themes, Christmas, and places around the world.

“The event lasts a couple of hours and boasts a really neat silent auction,” Andrews says. “We have trips for folks to bid on, local concert tickets and meals, jewelry, art work, and many other things donated by generous local businesses and individuals.”

The event’s speaker this year will be Jordan Brooks, a freshman at Lamar University. Jordan graduated from LC-M High School last year and received a Heartbeats of Hope scholarship. He is a cancer survivor whose family was aided by the organization, and now Jordan visits other kids with cancer along with the HOH youth team.

There will be a meal, a live auction, and a multi-media presentation outlining the work of Heartbeats of Hope and remembering children who have passed away.

For tickets, call 409-651-8390, or mail a check with your address and the number of tickets you want to PO Box 578, Vidor, Texas, 77670. Andrews says folks may e-mail her at sally8363@aol.com for further information.