Star-Studded Carousel Of Hope To Celebrate Major Milestones
DENVER (CBS4) - The Children's Diabetes Foundation hosts the Carousel of Hope as a fundraiser, in addition to that, this year it will be a virtual celebration.
Normally, the Carousel of Hope Ball travels between Denver and Los Angeles every year. This year, it's in California, but because it's virtual everyone can participate.
"This year it's normally in California, and it's a very exclusive invite only. But it's virtual, so we are inviting everyone. And anybody can register. It's free at carouselofhope.org," said Dana Davis, Executive Director of the Children's Diabetes Foundation.
The Los Angeles event is always a star-studded event, with big name performances. Davis said that this year will be no different.
"Even as we started it, we had more and more people asking to join. People like Oprah Winfrey, Maria Shriver, and Tom Hanks, that are going to be giving messages. We have people like Sam Smith, and Adam Lambert, Barry Manilow, Rod Stuart performing, and then we have David Copperfield doing a magic trick, and Judge Judy doing a special little something. So it's really grown into this super cool show, and we're excited," Davis explained.
This is a big year for the Children's Diabetes Foundation. The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes is celebrating 40-years of top-quality Type 1 diabetes care. And Barbara Davis, herself, is celebrating her 90th birthday.
While registration for the event is free, there will be a silent auction and donations are encouraged. Carousel of Hope is a fundraiser, providing much needed funding to the Children's Diabetes Foundation.
"What's really important this year is COVID has affected our patients a lot, so we have a higher percentage of patients living at or below the poverty level. As well as, patients, families who have lost insurance so we care for patients no matter their ability to pay. And we have more and more patients that are required to have free care. This money will go directly to the clinics and to care of patients at this point," Davis told CBS4.
The virtual 34th Annual Carousel of Hope is Saturday, October 10, 2020 at 7 p.m. MST. The event is free, and will stream exclusively on PEOPLE.com.
