Halloween Masquerade Ball to Benefit Marks Foundation

The Kathleen F. Marks Memorial Foundation will hold its first Halloween Masquerade Ball at Colonial Terrace, Cortlandt, Oct. 26.

The foundation is a newly established local charity whose mission is to raise funds for cancer research and host fundraisers for cancer patients in financial need. Kathleen Marks, who lost her 4-year fight with cervical cancer in October 2001, was described by foundation members as an amazing and inspiring woman, selfless and kind, smart and fun, who spent most of her life selflessly caring for her family, friends and community, volunteering her time for countless projects.

The foundation was created in her memory in July 2011 by her eldest daughters, Crystal Schwer, president, and Isis Kline, vice president.

Halloween was Marks’ favorite holiday, and foundation members said the Masquerade Ball, coinciding with the 11th anniversary of her death, “is the perfect way to pay tribute to an exceptional woman who was taken too soon.”

The ball will take place at The Mansion at Colonial Terrace, 119 Oregon Road, starting at 7 p.m. and continuing until midnight. Dinner, dancing, an aerial show and a silent auction are just a few of the items on the agenda, along with a few surprises. All proceeds will benefit the Division of Pediatric Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, research of acute myeloid leukemia.

Tickets are available online through the foundation Web site www.KFMFoundation.org and in person at all of the community activities the foundation has scheduled on its event calendar, available on the Web site, through Oct. 18. Information about sponsorship opportunities for the ball is also available on the Web site. The foundation is also accepting donations, in-kind gifts, services and items for a silent auction and is planning a journal for the ball.

For more information, please e-mail Schwer at Crystal@KFMFoundation.org, or phone 914-497-9308.