On Thursday evening, the Chicago Illuminating Company became a girly haven, filled with flowery cupcakes, feathery chandeliers, and a sizable crew of hairstylists, manicurists, and cosmetic surgeons with Botox at the ready. Local fashion and beauty Web site Glossed & Found hosted the spa-themed cocktail bash in an effort to raise funds for leukemia research—and to provide assistance for a local child affected by the disease.
"My friend reached out to me for help in spreading the word that her grandson needed a bone marrow donor," said Stacey Roney, founder of Glossed & Found. "I thought hosting another spa soiree [after producing a similar event in 2008] would be the perfect way to raise awareness and money for leukemia, and offer bone marrow testing on site."
Volunteers provided bone marrow testing at the entrance to the event, while spa services took place at stations spread out over several areas. While devising a floor plan, Roney and her team had to take the logistics associated with each type of treatment into account. For the Botox injections, for example, surgeons set up camp in a secluded loft area, "where there was no risk of anyone bumping into the patient or the doctor," said Roney.
Roney said that "time" was the greatest challenge in pulling the benefit together. "Due to the fact that this little boy's life was on the line, we had to try to find a bone marrow donor within a month," she said. "An event that would normally take four to five months to plan was planned in three weeks."
To speed ticket sales, Roney asked all associated vendors to assist with promotion. She said she also "reached out to members of the media and the top social networkers in the beauty, fashion, and lifestyle industries, and they promoted the event on Facebook, Twitter, and to their personal contacts."
Ultimately, the efforts helped sell more than 300 tickets in a week and half. Though the bone marrow tests from the event are still being processed, the young patient found a cord blood match and is set to undergo surgery. "And all of the [more than 300] donors who were tested at the event will still be entered in the national registry," said Roney. "So we may end up finding a match for someone else in dire need of a transplant."
