Halloween fundraiser coming to town

Butchers Annalise Unger, 17, of Burlington, Clare Sheahan, 17, of Shelburne and Carolyn Cutting, 17, of Ferrisburgh volunteer in a haunted house fundraiser for Mahana Magic at The Old Lantern in Charlotte last year. Photo by Lynn Monty.

The Mahana Magic Foundation’s Monster Bash will be held at The Old Lantern in Charlotte on Oct. 27 from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The nonprofit foundation supports children who are coping with a parent or loved one with cancer. Its mission is to empower them through compassionate meetings with a child-life specialist, confidence-building ropes courses and new art-therapy opportunities.

About 50 people visit the haunted house and more than 400 adults attend the monster bash annually. The two-day event is Mahana Magic’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Previous years’ events raised close to $41,000. Tickets are now on sale. For more information visit the Mahana Magic website.

The bulk of the funding needed is for a grant that funds the child-life specialist position at the UVM Medical Center. This person works with the Cancer Patient Support Program to provide family-centered care to patients diagnosed with cancer who have children. Foundation founder Greg Couture lived three years after his cancer diagnosis, just long enough to get the foundation going. He wanted support for his children and others going through a similar experience. Mahana Magic is named for his daughters, Makena and Hana.