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was held in the summer of 2012.
Careity was founded in 2003 to provide early detec-
tion, personal and holistic on-site care and counseling
for economically challenged-cancer patients, mostly in
Parker, Palo Pinto, Johnson, Hood and Tarrant coun-
ties. Branch and Walsh founded Careity after losing both
their mothers to the devastating disease. They distinguish
Careity by its hands-on approach to overseeing programs.
The foundation helps people who are often not covered
by insurance and health plans, with funds raised going to
direct patients care.
“We do this because everyone in this room, no matter
what goes on, is touched by cancer, and we want to help
all that are touched by cancer, whether they have insur-
ance or not; our doctors will take care of you. If they don’t
have insurance or they are under-insured, we’ll take care
of them if they qualify. That’s the way it works. It’s simple.
We usually get a doctor order in under 24 hours,” Walsh
said.
“We work with hospitals and physicians. We strongly
believe that the funds we raise should go to direct patient
care. We’re very involved with patient’s journey,” Walsh
continued.
In 2017, the demand for early detection and services
for local cancer patients escalated tremendously and
Careity was there to help, providing over 7,550 direct
patient services that year.
“There are families in crisis, single parents, dedicated
spouses who can no longer handle the numbing demands
of the journey. The diagnosis is just the beginning of a
very long journey for these cancer patients,” Branch said.
With the money raised with Cain’s help, many more
men and women will get the treatment they need to fight
this ugly disease.
“This is absolutely incredible because of the lives that
we touch. The hope that we can give people so that they
can concentrate on healing is unbelievable. This money
will help us because we hope to multiply it a couple of
times with the services that we provide,” Walsh said.
As for Cain, she learned more about Careity from this
experience than she expected, something that she herself
is amazed at. For her, it was going behind the scenes and
seeing for herself what services Careity provides to cancer
patients that was a life changer.
“I have to admit, I learned a lot. I am amazed at all
that Careity does for everyone. I went to the cancer center
with Beverly and Lyn and was amazed at everything that
they did for people,” Cain said.
Cain said that experience has changed her outlook on
cancer, and she will continue to volunteer with Careity
and bring awareness to this disease and the fantastic work
that Careity does on a day-to-day basis.
our chefs: DESSERT COOK-OFF
Sweet Taste of Success
By MISTY BROWING
16
Chef Paxton Lanning Wins Fourth
Title In A Row At PCT Event
Parker County Today invited five amazing Parker County
restaurants, some new to our Bachelorette event, to come
up with their most creative, sumptuous, desserts in the
hopes of their chef to win the coveted title of Dessert
Chef of the Year.
All five came to play at our Oct. 25 event, Sweet
Charity & Bachelorettes. These five chefs created some of
the tastiest treats this side of the Mississippi. But only one
can come out the winner, and a winner it was.
Chef Paxton Lanning of Downtown Whistle Hill Café
was defending champion who managed to triumph over
the completion with his fresh look at a known favorite,
the pumpkin cheesecake bar.
“The bar was served on a brownie bottom, topped
with bourbon caramel glaze, topped with crumbled pret-
zels, giving it a little salt and a crunch at the end of it,”
Lanning said. “I picked this because it’s a seasonal thing.
We try to stay with the season and be fresh and change
it up. We didn’t want to do the same dessert again. We
change it up and try to be fresh to show that we are not
boxed in to one dessert or one food item, and can show
what we can do.”
For Lanning though, it’s not about winning the award,
it’s always about the charities.
“It’s always cool to win. We always want to win. This
type of event is always about the charities, and for me,
it’s about my charity, and making sure we raise the most
money we can [and] get involved as much as possible. I
took a couple of my kids out there [Stars and Strides]
and I was able to see a couple of the kids affected and it
changed my perspective. It was mind-blowing,” he said.
This is Lanning’s fourth win, winning Top Chef
honor in the September 2016 Bankhead Celebration,
Dessert Chef of the Year at last year’s Sweet Charity &
Bachelorettes, and Chef of the Year at PCT’s Boots, BBQ
and Bachelors.
Lanning is a self-taught chef, he started at the original
location of Whistle Hill as a teenager. His mother and