For the past 25 years, the board of directors for LibertyCon, a local science fiction convention and nonprofit organization that aims to promote literacy and education in the Chattanooga area, has chosen a charity to receive a large donation from the organization.
This year, that meant $16,000 for local nonprofit Lana’s Love Foundation, a resource for families with children fighting cancer.
It was the largest private donation ever received by Lana’s Love, said foundation Director Holly Shull.
Founded by Barn Nursery owners and Rivermont residents Jim and Cindy Webster, Lana’s Love was named after their daughter, Lana Beth. At age 6, Lana Beth was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, which she fought bravely for five years before passing away at age 11. They started the organization with the goal of providing kids with cancer and their families with outlets for having fun, a service they said they wish they’d had when Lana Beth was sick.
Lana’s Love Foundation provides its services, including meals for families at the hospital and group outings to area attractions such as Lake Winnepesaukah, free of charge.
Among the families helped by the organization this year was that of Caitlyn Puckett, whose father, Soddy-Daisy resident Don Puckett, is involved with LibertyCon.
It was in Caitlyn’s name that the sci-gi group gave the $16,000. Caitlyn passed away earlier this year, at the age of 19.
Other donations amounting to $2,500 were also given to Lana’s Love in her honor.
Don Puckett said Caitlyn, who was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in 2011, began receiving support from Lana’s Love after her second relapse, as she was undergoing her third cycle of chemotherapy.
“She could only tolerate a small selection of food,” he said. “They would prepare pasta and butter for her to help her eat and keep her strength up.”
Having a child with cancer is a huge strain on the parents’ finances as well as their time, and it’s often hard for parents to give the patient’s siblings the attention they need. Puckett said this was something with which he struggled with Caitlyn’s twin. The foundation helped support the family in various ways, such as providing snacks for the family’s other children to eat while they were at the hospital, and organizing fun outings.
“These situations put an enormous amount of stress on the families,” Puckett said. “[Lana’s Love] gives you pleasant things to look forward to or look back on during a stressful situation.”
Before Caitlyn passed away, she strongly expressed to her family that she didn’t want a funeral. Instead, they set up a crowdfunding site through Gofundme.com and asked that people make donations to Lana’s Love, the Erlanger Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Austin Hatcher Foundation in lieu of sending flowers.
The site raised more than $4,000, $2,500 of which went to Lana’s Love.
LibertyCon’s donation was composed of a portion of convention attendees’ admission fees as well as the proceeds of a silent auction during the convention, said LibertyCon secretary Kevin “Fritz” Fotovich.
Shull said the donations went into the general fund for Lana’s Love, most of which is used to cover the cost of monthly events, such as a trip for 200-plus patients and family members to Rock City’s Enchanted
Garden of Lights. The organization typically raises most of its funds through private donations, as well as through an annual golf tournament held in October at Windstone Golf Course.
For more information about Lana’s Love Foundation, visit lanaslove.com or call 322-7015. For more information about LibertyCon, visit libertycon.org.