Sixth Annual Stars Guitars Charity Event To Commence This Month

Whether you’re a little bit country or hardcore rock n’ roll, at Stars Guitars 2010 you can bid on, and win, autographed acoustic and electric guitars from some of music's biggest stars. Better still, the money you spend supports two programs for kids surviving cancer: the Charles A Main, M.D. Pediatric Cancer Survivor Scholarship Fund and Beaumont's Pediatric Oncology Long Term Follow Up Clinic.

Celebrating its sixth year, Stars Guitars has supported the advanced education efforts of some 120 children. Since Dr. Main launched the fund in 1992, it has awarded more than $600,000 in scholarships. Plus, the fund now helps childhood cancer survivors pay for the costs of treating the after effects of chemotherapy, radiation and other cancer treatments.

“After years of debilitating medicine, Stars Guitars helps us provide hope and a brighter future to kids with big hearts and plenty of potential,” said Charles A. Main, M.D., chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. “Last year alone we awarded 42 scholarships and 75 medical grants. That’s great news for parents whose savings may be exhausted.”

From Fender to Gibson to Paul Reed Smith signature models and fine acoustic models, there’s something for the casual collector and serious aficionado. Each has been carefully selected by the pros at Southfield’s Guitar Center and hand-delivered to ensure signature authenticity. This year’s crop of celebrity signers includes perennial favorites, hot new stars and a wood grain Gibson Les Paul signed by the late master himself, Les Paul. In addition, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Sammy Hagar, Rick Nielsen, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, 311, U2 and many others have all lent their signatures to this cause.

“When you get the horrible news that your child has cancer, you think your child is going to die. In those first days, no one can convince you otherwise,” said Denise Glassmeyer Hendler, whose three-year-old daughter, Brenna, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1998. “Then something happens that lets hope creep back in. For my husband and me, it was when Dr. Main mentioned the scholarship fund. We knew that Brenna had a future extending beyond cancer. Pediatric cancer survivors are this nation’s next ‘Greatest Generation.’ I am so happy there are people helping these amazing young cancer veterans to reach the future they fought so hard to have.”

Stars Guitars is October 23 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Mich. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event begins at 6:30 p.m. Highlights of this family friendly evening include a gourmet strolling dinner, silent and live auctions with other great items besides the guitars and a Kenny Loggins concert. Tickets are $75 and $125. Get tickets online at starsguitars.org.

The Charles A. Main M.D. Pediatric Cancer Survivor Scholarship Fund of Beaumont Hospitals was created in 1992 to assist young cancer survivors in meeting the expenses of an advanced education and to honor outstanding achievements made by current and former patients of Beaumont Hospitals. Beaumont Children’s Hospital formed its Late Effects Clinic in response to the growing number of children surviving cancer, about 80 percent, and health problems they often encounter months or years after their treatment. Learn more at beaumonthospitals.com. For more information on the event and scholarship fund, visit the Stars Guitars website at starsguitars.org.