Celene’s angels fundraiser raises more than $20,000
Celene’s Angels hosted its fifth annual fundraiser Sept. 30, raising more than $20,000.
Money raised at the event held at VFW Post 1409 in Monongahela aid men and women dealing with breast cancer in Washington, Fayette, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
Since its inception in 2019, the nonprofit has helped patients through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
Volunteering at the fundraiser were members of Gamma Gamma Sigma of PennWest California and Bikers Helping Others. Numerous businesses supported the event, including CC’s Sweets in Scenery Hill, Nothing Bundt Cakes of Upper St. Clair and Eat n’ Park.
“That’s the type of support we’ve gotten from the community,” Celene’s Angels president Celene Petre said. “It it wasn’t for the community, I don’t know where the charity would be. They make this event spectacular.”
Petre, of New Eagle, is a two-time breast cancer survivor. The name “Celene’s Angels” was coined after her first battle in 2018 as friends and family rallied around her during her eight hospitalizations from treatment complications, as well as a broken arm.
She was diagnosed again Feb. 14, 2020. However, Petre and her “team of angels” continued to provide a positive outlook for others going through cancer treatment.
Petre said her condition is currently stable and she is in a clinical trial to help in the fight to find a cure. “Maybe it won’t be for my generation, but hopefully for somebody in the future,” she said.
It is a cause close to Petre’s heart and for which she has raised money for more than 15 years. Her mother, Claudia Kraus, died March 14, 2015, after battling breast cancer for 21 years.
Now the group has an Angel of Hope sponsor in Burns & McDonnell, an architecture and engineering company. Petre said having a sponsor will help Celene’s Angels in its mission.
“We’re going to be able to do even more,” she said. “We’re extremely fortunate to have Burns & McDonnell as a sponsor.”
Donations are accepted year round and can be made at www.celenesangels.org or by mail at Celene’s Angels, 338 Center Ave., New Eagle, PA, 15067.
“We always accept donations and we’re always looking for volunteers for our next event,” Petre said.