One of the most important pillars for Oler Relo as a company, is our solid commitment to giving back to our local communities in Houston, Corpus Christi and New Orleans. Last week, we had the honor of sponsoring the Candlelighters’ Summer Surprises Event at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Candlelighters is a wonderful organization that provides emotional, educational and practical support to families of children with cancer.
We have been avid supporters of Candlelighters for many years, and we are always happy to help out in any way that we can. This year, we wanted to be able to get more involved with their organization, and the Summer Surprises program was the perfect opportunity.
What is Summer Surprises?
Summer Surprises is an annual Candlelighters event that is held each summer at Texas Children’s Cancer Center and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Volunteers come in to help set up for the event, and then help to give out gifts and gift cards to the children at the hospitals.
The Summer Surprises program came about as a direct result of the toy drive that is held in conjunction with the Houston Relocation Professionals (HRP) Holiday Event, which is held each December. According to Lynn Wheeler, Associate Director of Candlelighters, there was such an overflow of toys and gifts from the generous donations from these events, that Candlelighters decided to hold enough of them back in order to spread the holiday cheer deep into the summertime.
The Smiles Are the Reward
As a sponsor, we provided and served lunch to the families, as well as having several members of the Oler Relo team volunteering at the event. We had such a great time meeting these awesome kids and their families, handing out toys, gift cards, and assisting the children with various arts and crafts activities.
It is difficult to describe how you feel when you see these children smiling and having a great time, knowing that they are at the hospital for cancer treatment. The smiles really are a reward in themselves. Just knowing that you are helping these children and their families take their minds off of the challenges they are facing to just have fun for a few hours is incredible.
This was a very special day, for a very special group of families, and we were glad that we could lend a hand.
Why Candlelighters?
As a charitable organization, Candlelighters is one that has truly touched our hearts from the very first moment we became involved with them. They do such wonderful things to help these families in time of crisis.
Oler Relo was first introduced to Candlelighters through our involvement as members of HRP. For the past several years, we have held our own toy drives, and provided a truck for the collection and delivery of the toy donations at the HRP holiday events.
Candlelighters does so much for these children and families. They provide practical financial support by assisting with things like: meal passes and parking passes at the Texas Medical Center, grocery and gas gift cards, and even help with funeral expenses. They also provide emotional and educational support through their many programs, such as: Parent Consultant Program, newsletter, Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays, Camp CLIFF (Children Loved In Families Forever), support group meeting, Fun Walk and many more.
Candlelighters Fun Walk
Oler Relo is excited to be involved in the upcoming Candlelighters’ Fun Walk, which will be held on September 8th in Terry Hershey Park. We will be participating as a team in the walk, as well as providing breakfast tacos for other participants.
This is a very important year for the Fun Walk, because it was cancelled last year due to Hurricane Harvey. Candlelighters has dubbed it their comeback year, and we are glad to be a part of it, and we urge you to participate too. So please, get your family, friends and company involved. It’s for a great cause! And if you don’t want to get up early and walk, no problem. You can sleep in and still make a donation by visiting: www.Candle.org.
Moving Forward
Oler Relo is committed to our continued support of Candlelighters as they support the needs of families facing childhood cancer. We hope that you will do your part too, because Candlelighters is in need of assistance year round.
Please check out the video below, which captures the Summer Surprises Event at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.
