9th annual ‘Pink Christmas’ to benefit cancer patients and their families

Written by or for St. George News
November 28, 2021
A decorated tree with photos of 2020 "Pink Christmas" recipients. | Image courtesy of Pink Christmas, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — “Pink Christmas” has become a Southern Utah community tradition for the holiday season for the last nine years.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions and a change of venue, Pink Christmas raised in excess of $45,000 for local families affected by cancer in 2020, thanks to the help of Alex Meisner Construction and an overwhelming outpouring of community support.

Organizer Rachel Torres said the program also expanded to the Mesquite area in 2020 and did a second event to raise additional funds for community members in Southern Nevada. 

This year’s Southern Utah event will be held on Dec. 2 at Cedar High School in Cedar City, from 5:30-8 p.m. The event will showcase local talent for entertainment. It will also have a silent auction, a gun raffle and a bake sale, plus an appearance by Santa Claus for the kids. Cost of admission is $5 per person or $20 per family.

The Mesquite event will be held on Dec. 11 from 5-8:30 p.m. Nevada time at Scotty’s Bar and Grill at Falcon Ridge Golf Course. It is scheduled to feature live music by Tamara Reber and Jordan Sanders, along with a raffle. Admission is $10 per person. 

Pink Christmas has helped 15 families from southern Utah since 2013 and will be helping another four families at this year’s event, Torres said. Additionally, the Nevada event helped two families in 2020 and will be helping three more families in 2021. 

Torres said an account for accepting donations has been set up at State Bank of Southern Utah under the name “Pink Christmas.” Donations can also be made via Venmo @PinkChristmas. To donate to the silent auction please contact Rachel Torres at 435-463-2665.

2021 Utah beneficiaries:

Kerry Fain and family, 2021 “Pink Christmas” recipients. | Photo courtesy of Pink Christmas, St. George News / Cedar City News

Kerry Fain was diagnosed in December 2020 with stage 4 colon cancer with metastasis to her liver, lung and thyroid. Kerry has been a big supporter of our community. She is the president of Southern Utah YETI and has committed a lot of her time to help provide our community with the ice rink and organized ice sports. Kerry is the wife of Chad, mother of Zack, Miles, Luke, Bo, Alyssa and Hallee and the grandmother of Preston. 

Amy Giddings was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2017 that later went into remission. In March of 2021 the cancer came back as stage 4 and has spread to her lymph nodes, spinal column, and sacrum. She works at Chrysalis and has continued to work through all of her treatments. She finds motivation in the kids she spends her days at work with. She is the wife to Bart and mother to Brett Giddings and Megan White. 

Faith Blodgett was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in October 2021 as she was preparing to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She enjoys playing video games, drawing and reading comics. Faith worked at Walmart until she was diagnosed and is the oldest of 10 siblings. She has six sisters and three brothers. She is the daughter of Brent and Chantelle Blodgett.

Janae Heaton was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in April 2021. She has been a cake decorator at Honey’s Marketplace in Kanab until she became sick. Her diagnosis has been especially hard on her since she has had to transition from being a caregiver to being a patient. Prior to her diagnosis, Janae had been the primary caregiver to her husband and she has had to rely on her daughters for help. She is the wife to Brett and the mother to Shaelynn, Jayde and Carley.

2021 Mesquite beneficiaries: 

Shaquel Cannon and husband, 2021 “Pink Christmas” Nevada recipients. | Photo courtesy of Pink Christmas, St. George News / Cedar City News

Shaquel Cannon is a beautiful mother to seven children, Asia, Savannah, Rudy, Kylie, Jimmy, Kolina and Cody. Wife of the late Jim Cannon, she was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 which metastasized in 2016 to stage 4 metastatic. Her favorite quotes include “Always see the good,” “This is a wonderful day,” and “I’ve never seen this one before.”

Anita Burton is wife to Kenny Burton and is a mother to three children, Drew, Juliahna and Levi. Diagnosed with cervical cancer stage 2b in Nov. 2021, her favorite quote is “Set your mind on things above and not on things on earth.”

Wende Wolfe-Killinger is a beautiful mother to four children, Taylor, Jake, Lucas and Marcus. She is the wife to Rich Killinger. Wolfe-Killinger was diagnosed August 2021 with invasive lobular carcinoma, stage 3. Her favorite quote is “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.”

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