The Face of Halloween competition, a rebrand of the annual Face of Horror online contest, has concluded, raising a remarkable $3.2 million for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
The nonprofit Starlight Children’s Foundation and Colossal—a professional fundraising organization—celebrated the results of the competition during a Halloween event at Banner Children’s at Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, AZ, where the total funds raised were announced.
Colossal also announced the winner of the Face of Halloween as Ollie Graves, a circus artist who grew up loving horror and metal. Graves was awarded the $13,000 grand prize and a meet-and-greet with the original “Scream Queen,” Jamie Lee Curtis. Fellow slasher film veterans, including Matthew Lillard of “Scream” and Kane Hodder, who famously played Jason Voorhees in four “Friday the 13th” films, were also part of the winner’s experience. Graves plans to use the funds to move to Salem, Massachusetts, and acquire her dream aerial equipment.
“One of the most important days for children is Halloween, so this campaign raising $3.2 million for us will go so far in delivering more of our programs to kids for the holiday and throughout the rest of the year,” said Starlight CEO, Adam Garone “To all the voters and participants in the Face of Halloween, your donations will have an incredible impact on the amount of children that we are able to support through Starlight programs.”
Starlight Children’s Foundation offers programs, such as Toy Deliveries and Hospital Gowns, free of charge, to its hospital partners nationwide, including Banner Children’s at Thunderbird, to help unleash the power of play —an essential part of childhood. Play provides pediatric patients with positive distraction and moments of happiness while temporarily setting aside the challenges of medical procedures, treatments, and conditions. Studies have shown that engaging in play can contribute to patients’ well-being and potentially contribute to a speedy recovery.
During the event on October 31, the group distributed toys to young patients at Thunderbird.
“We’re incredibly grateful for organizations like Starlight and Colossal for everything they do to help make our young patients’ times in the hospital a bit less scary,” said Nikki Hardin, nursing director at Banner Children’s at Thunderbird. “Seeing the joy on kids’ faces during events like reverse trick-or-treating and toy deliveries is a testament to the impact made for our pediatric patients and their families.”
This marks the second year that Starlight Children’s Foundation has been the beneficiary of a Colossal’s Face of Halloween competition. This competition showcases the power of community and fandoms, as Halloween fans from around the world participated and voted for their favorites to become the Face of Halloween.
