The Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport - Mall of America hosted the 5th Annual MN Miracle New Year's Eve Celebration to benefit The Miracles of Mitch Foundation.



The Miracles of Mitch are the daily good works inspired by 9-year old Mitch Chepokas to help the families of children battling cancer in Minnesota.  Sealed with a pinky swear between Mich and his father, Steve, The Miracles of Mitch Foundation was created to honor Mitch's desire to support these families during a stressful time in their lives.

Since its inception in 2003, the foundation has helped these families maintain their quality of life by: enabling them to make a mortgage, rent and automobile payments as well as purchase groceries; sponsoring  a summer camp for current and past pediatric cancer patients and their siblings; hosting Minnesota Miracle weekend getaways; and celebrating specially tailored quality-of-life initiatives for kids with an advanced stage of cancer.  In serving its families, MOMF operates as though "time is of the essence" because, in most cases, it is.

This year's event was sold out with 560 guests attending the program and dinner/dance in the MN Valley Ballroom.  Additionally, another 50 volunteers were on hand to help with kids games, registration and silent/live auction.  Eric Perkins from NBC KARE 11 was the emcee again this year and did a wonderful job incorporating kids games into the program.  Casablanca Orchestra (CBO) provided the entertainment and delivered a spectacular performance.



General Manager Charles Goldberg presents Steve & Becky Chepokas, Founder of The Miracles of Mitch Foundation, with a check in the amount of $78,000 to help their cause.



Pictured holding this year's check are the event co-chairs Lori Day from M&I Bank and Christine Finn from Medica.



Pictured above are guests who stayed at the Hilton for a MN Miracle Weekend in calendar year 2009 as a retreat from their treatment in area Twin City hospitals.  The Minnesota Miracle is a collaborative program between MOMF, the Hilton Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Hotel and Mall of America that provides weekend getaways for families of pediatric cancer patients. Each family receives two adjoining hotel rooms decorated with age-appropriate toys for the patient and accompanying siblings or friends; prepaid Visa gift cards for a MOA shopping spree; Holiday gas card; passes to Nickelodeon Universe and Underwater Adventures, breakfast at the Hilton, kitchen tours with the Hilton’s Executive Chef Eric G. Baker; and disposable cameras to record their experience. Everything is in place for a stress-free family getaway that will create long-lasting memories. Last year, the Hilton hosted 82 pediatric cancer families on these special weekends.  51 families were hosted in calendar year 2008.