Altrusa International of Richardson Foundation honored Larissa Linton of Heroes for Children with the Outstanding Women Award in the nonprofit category at their annual Outstanding Women of Today... Builders of Tomorrow Luncheon held Oct. 30.
“It is such an honor to be recognized by the strong women of Altrusa for this distinguished award,” Larissa said. “We work very hard to help families across the state of Texas who have a child battling cancer, but to know that our work is being recognized here in our backyard is gratifying.”
Larissa received the award in honor of her achievements as co-founder and executive director of the Richardson-based nonprofit that provides social and financial assistance to families across the state of Texas whose children are battling cancer. Under her leadership, Heroes for Children has served more than 4,200 families with more than $5.5 million in financial assistance – helping families pay their rent, utility bills or out of pocket expenses like gas to and from the hospital, meals, child care and so much more.
To achieve the nonprofit’s vision that no family with a child battling cancer will fight alone – Larissa has organized a multitude of events and programs including:
- Heroes and Handbags luxury handbag auction and luncheon hosted each spring in Dallas and Houston
- Golf tournament hosted every spring or summer in the Dallas area
- Heart of Gold 5K and Fun Run hosted in the Dallas area each September in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
- Hold’em for Heroes poker tournament hosted each fall in Austin, Dallas and Houston
- Movie Day treats families served by Heroes for Children to a day at the movies – including fun-filled games, prizes and sweet treats.
- Holiday Heroes offers full holiday joy to the families it serves throughout the year. Each holiday season, social workers choose families in need from hospitals served by Heroes for Children across the state of Texas. Families selected for the program are “adopted” and receive gifts for the entire family.
- Laptops for Love donates new laptops to teenagers battling cancer. This unique program provides teens with a link to the outside world while undergoing cancer treatment and allows them to keep up with their schoolwork while away from the classroom.
The year 2015 has proven to be a successful year for Heroes for Children. Heroes celebrated 10 years of service at the signature fundraising event “Heroes and Handbags,” hosted in Dallas and Houston and raising more than $675,000 for Heroes for Children. To find out how to get involved with events like this and more information about Heroes for Children, please visit http://www.heroesforchildren.org.