TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL
Hospice fundraiser plans in the works
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » One of the area’s most anticipated and important non-profit fundraisers is entering a new era, with a renewed commitment to helping people in need.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, in 1988, Panza’s Restaurant hosted a large dinner to benefit Community Hospice of Saratoga and Washington Counties, which had just started operating locally.
The annual event, called Touched by An Angel, is now attended by more than 400 people and last year raised $91,000. But after three decades as the dinner’s food coordinator, Tony Panza is handing such duties over to veteran BOCES culinary instructor Paul Cerone, who has assisted Panza for several years.
“It’s in good hands,” Panza said. “Paul’s a very talented man. I’m sure he’ll do just fine.”
Panza also credited former Hospice Foundation Specialist Barbara Ecker for putting a “great volunteer group together.”
“The dinner is so well orchestrated that it almost runs itself now,” he said.
Ecker’s successor, Gina Peca, has a strong commitment to hospice, and making sure Touched by An Angel remains a successful fundraising event. This year’s dinner is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 18 at the National Museum of Dance.
“This job means so much to me,” Peca said. “I lost my daughter 18 years ago to cancer and because of Community Hospice, we were able to keep her home at the end, where she spent time with friends and family. I lost my husband to a brain tumor in 2012 and he, too, was able to stay home at the end. Without hospice, I wouldn’t have been able to care for him.”
Community Hospice of Saratoga and Washington Counties is the only hospice in the area. Patients are referred to hospice by doctors or discharge planners when patients have a life-threatening illness and a prognosis of six months or less.
“Our average daily census is between 130 and 140 people,” Peca said. “We have patients in nursing homes, their own homes and hospitals.”
Dozens of area restaurants, bakeries and companies such as Sysco Foods donate food stations, appetizers and desserts to Touched by An Angel.
“This year we are providing beer, wine, champagne and Saratoga Spring Water,” Peca said. “In addition, we’re having a premier raffle of a two-night stay at the Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid. The Saratoga Photobooth will be on hand providing charming mementos of a fun evening. Sunnyside Gardens is sponsoring a pumpkin carving contest with $200, $300 and $500 prizes. The pumpkins are sponsored by local businesses. Local artists carve them and then they’re voted on and sold at Touched by An Angel.”
Music will be provided by Mike Perkins and Tony Liquori.
Cerone has a long history in the food industry. His family has run Pennell’s Restaurant in Saratoga Springs for many years. In addition to BOCES, Cerone also teaches culinary arts at Schenectady County Community College. Students from both programs help prep and serve food at Touched by An Angel.
Cerone said he’s honored to follow in Tony Panza’s footsteps.
“I can’t express how much work Panza’s has done for Touched by An Angel over the years,” he said. “It’s been quite an undertaking. There’s a hundred little connections made between the kitchen, the back of the house, and out front.”
“Restaurants always step up to the plate and do more,” Cerone said. “I’ve always been proud to be part of an industry that gives back. Almost every restaurant in the area gets involved with Touched by An Angel. They know it’s a great cause.” Tickets are $80 per person. For more information, call (518) 5819727, Ext. 8611 or email: gina.peca@sphp.com.