Candlelighters a big help to many on the islands
After her three-year-old daughter Erin was diagnosed with cancer, Klaire Snell-Baker founded an organization called Candlelighters, based on a lack of resources in the community geared toward helping families who had children with cancer.
“We started the organization,” said Baker, “to give the families support. We’ve had several families here on Pine Island who’ve had kids with cancer, some of which were part of our original core group. I wanted something that was going to help all community-based people.”
Baker explained that whatever hospital a family chooses, the organization is here to help them. Candlelighters is sustained entirely by donations, and fundraisers, such as its annual fashion show in March and golf tournament in May.
Baker said they have been very fortunate to have partnered with businesses such as Gulf Coast Kayak and the Olde Fish House, which do multiple fundraising events for the organization.
“Brian and Diana Stockbridge, who own Gulf Coast Kayak, had a kayak fishing tournament back in November,” said Baker. “It was probably the worst possible day of all to do it, due to the weather. It was windy and rainy, so they didn’t get the turnout they were hoping for.”
The two-day fundraising event allowed the Stockbridges to present a check for $7,559 to Candlelighters, which received the proceeds in its entirety because, as Baker explained, her organization has been the charity of choice for Gulf Coast Kayak for the past several years.
Christine Strom, tournament sponsor chair for the organization, proposed the idea of becoming a Candlelighters’ sponsor to the Stockbridges, who agreed, and have been dedicated sponsors of the organization ever since. While Candlelighters does many things for many families, Baker said nothing the organization does is medical.
“Everything we do for the families is for enjoyment,” says Baker. “We are doing an event next month with a group called Freedom Waters Foundation. They take kids out into the Gulf on their private yachts and then come back and have a luncheon for them. We go to baseball and hockey games, and also to the theatre.”
Baker said they are very fortunate that people either donate tickets for them to do these things, or greatly reduce the price, making it affordable. Olde Fish House Marina is another local business that often elects to raise funds for Candlelighters, such as a Tuesday night bingo game, that ran for roughly six weeks. Baker said Olde Fish House Marina also did a 50/50 drawing, offering the option for people to donate their winnings back to the organization. Lisa Dence, owner of Olde Fish House Marina, often takes collections for the Candlelighters kids, such as stuffed animals, etc.
Baker said her biggest joy in all this has been being able to give families the opportunity to do things they can’t normally do because they have sick children, with a close second being the smiles she encounters on the children’s faces. She shares the experience of having been one of those parents, before losing her daughter, which is why she began the organization in the first place.
“She was being treated for neuroblastoma way back in the ’80s,” Baker said of daughter, Erin. “Since we had no other choice, we elected to do a bone marrow transplant, which was pretty experimental at the time. She contacted an infection — she didn’t have a good immune system to fight back, but those were our chances. It was that or she was going to die anyway. She was the reason that I put the organization together and after she passed away people were asking questions about where to find help, so I thought, I’ve got all this information … why don’t I reach forward and help them?”
The non-profit, she said, started with things such as having a picnic where everyone would bring something. This evolved into a Christmas party, where everyone would chip in for small toys to give the children. One day, someone gave Baker a check for $500 and she wondered what she could do with the money. It wasn’t long after that encounter that Baker filed as a non-profit, so that people who were kind enough to donate could benefit from a tax write-off for doing so.
“I’m not one who wants her picture on the wall,” said Baker. “I feel fortunate to be doing this. It’s a good idea, therapeutically. It helped me through the grief that I had, to be able to help other kids.”
If you’re wondering how you can help Candlelighters of Southwest Florida, call 239-432-2223 or visit its website WWW.CandlelightersSWFL.org or email the organization at info@candlelightersswfl.org