Fundraiser on April 12 to honor girl
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

Katie Souza

Katie Souza is no longer here on Earth, but her memory lives on in the hearts of those who knew her.

Katie, the daughter of Jennifer and Mario Souza, of Jackson, was born on April 21, 1998. She was 4 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of an unnamed cancer in 2002 and she died at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Aug. 29, 2002, one month after her initial diagnosis.

A fundraising fashion show and dinner will be held in Katie's honor and in her memory to raise funds to be donated to the Children's Hos-pital of Philadel-phia for research to help children with cancer.

Karen Filos, who owns and operates Bella Rose Salon, West Main Street, Freehold, is sponsoring the event, which will be held April 12 at the Courtyard on Main at the Main Street Bistro.

The 8-11 p.m. event will feature DJ entertainment, dinner and a fashion show. Fashions will be provided by Lavish Kids, Red Bank, The Barefoot Bride, Fair Haven, Diane and Co., Freehold, and Zabayon, Manalapan.

The fashion show will include guest speakers state Sen. Ellen Karcher and "Goumba" Johnny from radio station 103.5 KTU.

Tickets for the event are $75. Anyone interested in attending may call Bella Rose at (732) 462-0007 or contact the Web site at www.bellarosesalon.com.

According to Filos, the fashion models are all volunteers - customers and friends, and children of customers and friends, who are donating their time and efforts to contribute to the event to help children with cancer.

"We cannot do anything about what happened," said Filos, who was close to Katie, "but we can try to help other children who are sick."

Her staff is involved in the event as well. In order to help her staff understand who it is they are helping, Filos scheduled a scrapbooking craft afternoon at the hospital and brought her staff with her.

She said she wanted them to know and see the children and to connect with them on a real level.

"I wanted my staff to understand why we were planning such a large event, why we were selling these tickets, why we were planning raffles. This has been a great deal of work for them.

"Everyone has given so much of themselves to help, and I wanted them to see why they were doing it all," she continued.

"I wanted them to feel good about what they were doing. Everyone has helped. Whether it was selling tickets, making phone calls or contacting vendors, everyone has helped somehow."