Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier
Ginny Haughey will be spending Mother's Day at Great America in Santa Clara to help families cope with cancer on Courageous Kids Day.
Special to the Town Crier
Resident Profile
Three years ago, her family asked Ginny Haughey (pronounced "Hugh-y") what she wanted for Mother's Day. She answered that she was volunteering at an event called Courageous Kids Day, and for her gift, she wanted her husband and sons to volunteer with her.
"It was a much better present than something in a box," she said, smiling.
Since then, Haughey, 47, a nine-year resident of Los Altos, has gone from volunteer to Chairwoman of Courageous Kids Day, hosted by the American Cancer Society.
Courageous Kids Day is a day off from cancer for 600 kids currently in cancer treatment and their families from all over Northern California.
About 3,000 people will come to Great America for a day of fun and new friends who share the experience of coping with cancer. Great America provides free tickets to the children, their families, and the volunteers. This year, the event's 10th, will be this Sunday, Mother's Day,
"What's important about this day is that families fighting cancer get out of their house," Haughey said. "I know from raising my own children that even ordinary childhood illness disrupts your life. Cancer must be devastating. What we try to do is give people a day off from that, and a day together as a family."
Haughey's committee arranges for corsages for mothers and grandmothers, since it's always held on Mother's Day, face painting, visits by celebrities, a picnic lunch, music, clowns, balloon artists and a professional family portrait.
"One of the memorable parts of the day is the family picture," Haughey said. "What goes through my mind when I see them is that, for some families, this might be the last time they get their picture taken together."
Haughey has had two aunts die of cancer.
"I do like to volunteer," Haughey said. "I was always very active in my kids, schools." She is also a member of the Grandview League, which puts on the annual Cattle Baron's Ball, the major fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society.
Haughey sees volunteering for Courageous Kids Day as an opportunity to live out her Catholic faith. "It's important to serve our community," Haughey said.
"To make some difference. If I can do something special for a mother on Mother's Day, if I can make a difference in someone else's life that I don't even know, that's what it's all about."
To find out more about Courageous Kids Day, call the American Cancer Society at (408) 879-1032.