March 29, 2018

10th Annual Ryan House Community Breakfast

Top, left: Dustin Parsons, Drew Stanton and Max Bartolomea. Lower, left: Janet Moodie, Lin Sue Cooney, Tracy Leonard-Warner and Steffani Meyers, event chair. Lower, right: Micheline Etkin; Kathy Hull; Ryan Cottor, for whom Ryan House was named; Linda Ashcraft-Hudak; Ken Sommer; and Ken Ross

Ryan House held its 10^th Annual Community Breakfast on March 8 at the Arizona Biltmore. Almost a thousand guests attended the event, which featured Arizona Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton as the honorary chair. The morning grossed $275,000. Ryan House, which cares for Arizona’s most medically fragile children and their families, relies solely on community donations.

During the event, the second annual Courage Award was presented to Arizona State University students and Ryan House volunteers Dustin Parsons and Max Bartolomea.

Steffani Meyers chaired the breakfast, and Lin Sue Cooney, Hospice of the Valley’s community engagement director, served as emcee.

Ryan House is a safe, joyful place where kids can be kids and families can be families. During respite stays of up to 28 days per year, Ryan House provides everyday childhood experiences, including swimming and sleepovers, to children whose medical conditions make many of these experiences difficult, empowering them to live their best lives. Ryan House is one of only three facilities of its kind in the nation.

PHOTOS BY DAVE SEIBERT, COURTESY RYAN HOUSE