The Ace Hardware Foundation announces fourth annual Ace Cares for Kids All-Star
San Diego teen Kasey Harvey named “All-Star” at special school assembly
Today, the Ace Hardware Foundation, along with representatives from Ace Hardware retail stores and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, a member of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® (CMN Hospitals), gave local San Diego eighth-grader, Kasey Harvey, the surprise of a lifetime. The Ace Hardware Foundation surprised 14-year-old Kasey by announcing in front of hundreds of classmates at Mesa Verde Middle School in San Diego that she has been named the fourth annual National Ace Cares for Kids All-Star.
As Ace’s fourth-annual Ace Cares for Kids All-Star, Kasey Harvey will become the national ambassador for the Ace Foundation, raising awareness for the excellent work that is done at CMN Hospitals across the country. Through the support of Ace’s vendor partners P&G and Duracell, the Ace Cares for Kids program enables Ace stores to raise funds for their local CMN Hospital using Kasey’s face and story as inspiration.
The Harvey family knows all too well the amazing care provided by their local CMN Hospital, Rady Children’s. In November 2014, Kasey Harvey was diagnosed with a fast-moving form of cancer called alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, found in the maxillary sinus below her left eye. She immediately began treatment at Rady Children’s and after 43 rounds of chemotherapy as of October 2015 she is in remission.
“We are overjoyed and proud to welcome Kasey into the Ace All-Star family,” said Jimmy Alexander, president of the Ace Hardware Foundation. “We were incredibly inspired by Kasey’s spirit, positivity, grace and determination in the face of a life threatening disease – she truly embodies what it means to be an All-Star,” Alexander said.
Kasey Harvey was selected by the Ace Foundation following a nationwide endeavor that gave every Children’s Miracle Network Hospital an opportunity to nominate a deserving patient. As the fourth annual All-Star for the Ace Cares for Kids Program, a $10,000 donation will be made to Rady Children’s in Kasey’s honor. In addition, Kasey and her family will be treated to an all-expense paid trip to attend the CMN Hospitals’ annual conference in Walt Disney World. Throughout the year, Kasey will make special appearances and will be treated to exciting surprises from Ace Hardware. “We are honored to be the recipient of this generous donation from the Ace Foundation,” said Carol Damon-Scherer, vice president of development, Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Kasey Harvey is the perfect patient to serve as the national ambassador for the Ace Foundation.”
As a proud supporter of the CMN Hospitals, Ace Hardware has been dedicated to raising funds for children’s hospitals all across the country, including Rady Children’s. Over the past 24 years, the Ace Foundation has raised more than $70 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
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For more than 90 years, Ace Hardware has been known as the place with the helpful hardware folks in thousands of neighborhoods across America, providing customers with a more personal kind of helpful. In 2015, Ace ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores, Nine Years in a Row,” according to J.D. Power. With more than 4,800 hardware stores locally owned and operated across the globe, Ace is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries currently operate 17 distribution centers in the U.S. and also have distribution capabilities in Shanghai, China; Panama City, Panama; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its retailers' stores are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 60 countries. For more information on Ace, visit www.acehardware.com.
About the Ace Hardware Foundation
As the official charitable division of Ace Hardware Corporation, the Ace Hardware Foundation helps enhance the vision of being the “Helpful Place” in local communities across the country and around the globe through charitable giving. The Ace Foundation provides support and philanthropic opportunities to its consumers, retail store owners, vendors and team members to give back to local communities through fundraising efforts for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and American Red Cross Disaster Relief.
