HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Annual awareness dinner set for Dec. 14

Published 6:15 am Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Eli Williams would have turned 13 on Sunday. Sadly, his parents, Victor and Kristie Williams, spent the day without their son, who lost his battle with cancer on Aug. 5.

This will also be the family’s first Christmas without Eli, who was known by most in the community by his nickname — “The Eliminator.”

Kristie Williams said the sadness of spending holidays without her son is tempered by what she referred to as a “positive distraction.” That distraction is her work with Eli’s Block Party Childhood Cancer Foundation, which raises funds and awareness.

On Dec. 14, the foundation will host the annual Hope for the Holidays diner at the Limestone County Event Center. Tickets remain for the event, which begins at 6 p.m. All proceeds benefit pediatric brain cancer research.

“(The foundation) keeps me very busy focusing on positive things for the community and our family,” Kristie Williams said. “It’s definitely going to be hard, but we’ve done some things and are planning some things that will be a good distraction.”

She was quick to point out, however, that it’s not just her family that hurts during the holiday season. Any family that has lost a member to cancer feels the loss during the holiday season. Eli was the third area child to lose a battle with cancer in less than two years.

“Most cancer families hope for another Christmas (with the patient),” she said. “Hope is a real important element when you face cancer. You just have to have hope.”

In addition to hope, the event will celebrate the donation of $20,000 from the foundation to Dr. Ted Johnson at the Georgia Cancer Center. Williams said Johnson’s work is focused on immunotherapy, which benefited Eli over the course of a year and a half.

“That’s what we worked toward this year,” Williams said of the donation to Johnson’s work. “I always want to make sure we give the money directly to a research doctor who is working on something promising.”

About the event

Hope for the Holidays is sponsored by Preston Builders. Individual tickets are $40 or $30 for those 17 and younger. They can be purchased at Riff Raff Furniture and SheaLeigh’s Gifts & Home Decor in Athens.

The keynote speaker will be Amberley Snyder, a champion paraplegic barrel racer and roper. She’s making the trip to Athens from Utah.

“Even if you’re not a rodeo person, you’ll grow from hearing her,” Williams said. “We’re really excited to have her.”

A number of classic cars should also be on display in the event center, which ties in with another Eli’s Block Party event — an annual car show held each May.

Eli Williams was a car aficionado, and particularly loved Ford Mustangs. As another way to raise funds for cancer research, his parents started the Eli’s Pony Pride program. The Williams’ want to find a Mustang, restore it and auction it off.

“It’s very similar to how Eli was given up on by doctors,” Kristie Williams said. “We want to find a Mustang that was given up on and put it back on the road.”

The inaugural Mustang is a six-cylinder 2004 model with black paint and a gold stripe. Closed-bid auctions will be accepted through Dec. 14. The winner may be announced at the Hope for the Holidays dinner.

More information about the auction and photos of the car can be found by visiting www.elisblockparty.org/copy-of-awareness.

While some organizations wind down at the end of the year, Williams will continue to work and plan for 2018. In addition to the next Eli’s Block Party in the spring, Williams must also plan for another large-scale event — Super Hero Day, held each September.

“These are just ways to just strike back,” she said, referring to the foundation’s fight against childhood cancer. “I’m not a doctor and can’t be in the lab researching things. It’s all part of wanting Eli’s work and what he went through to mean something.”

For more information about Eli’s Block Party and the Hope for the Holidays dinner, visit www.elisblockparty.org.