The 5th annual Show the Light in Your Heart cocktail party and auction fundraiser for the Chadron Circle of Light program is tonight (April 11) at the Panhandle Event Center…the former Chadron Elks Club.

The evening begins at 5:30 with food and the silent auction, with the live auction beginning around 7:30 and running until around 9:00 with both silent and live auctions.

The $15 tickets can be purchased at the door and include one drink and appetizers. All donations are tax-deductible and all proceeds go directly to help area cancer patients.

The Circle of Light program was begun by Chadron Community Hospital and Health Services to provide financial assistance to cancer patients in Dawes, Sioux, Sheridan, and Box Butte counties.

It started with a $50,000 grant from the Nebraska chapter of the Susan G. Komen foundation to help breast cancer patients with expenses related to treatment and not covered by insurance, but was expanded after the successful first Show the Light in Your Heart event to include all types of cancer.

Counting the original $50,000 grant…more than $201,000 has been given to more than 70 cancer patients in the area.

Circle of Light funds can be used to medical expenses…travel expenses such as the cost of food, gas, and lodging when treatment is out of town…living expenses…groceries…and even lost work time.