Annual Scott Hamilton and Friends benefit to be held in Cleveland Saturday

CLEVELAND - The 12th Annual “An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends” ice show and gala will take place on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena and the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.

Hamilton, an Olympic champion figure skater and cancer survivor hosts the annual show to benefit the Tausing Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic as well as The Scott Hamilton CARES Initiative —a program that Hamilton started himself after receiving treatment for cancer at the Cleveland Clinic.

This year’s event will feature nine-time Grammy award winner Sheryl Crow (who is also a cancer survivor), as well as skaters Dorothy Hamill, Katia Gordeeva, Ilia Kulik, Sasha Cohen, Jeffrey Buttle, Jozef Sabovcek, Joannie Rochette, Kimmie Meissner, Caryn Kadavy, Michael Weiss, Ryan Bradley, Steven Cousins and Sinead and John Kerr.

This one night only performance has been an important fundraiser for The Scott Hamilton CARES Initiative for the past 12 years. The idea was born out of Hamilton’s experience with testicular cancer and a benign brain tumor which gave him an opportunity to help others with cancer.  He is now a lifetime spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute.

The CARES Initiative, founded in 1999, is comprised of three major components; the 4th Angel Mentoring Program designed to match newly diagnosed patients with trained volunteers who are also cancer survivors as well as matching new caregivers with a mentor; Chemocare.com a unique website designed to help patients better understand the chemotherapy experience; and research funding.

“An Evening with Scott Hamilton and Friends” begins with an ice show at 5 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena, followed by a black-tie gala at 7:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel.

Tickets are available by visiting www.theqarena.com or calling 1-800-332-2287 or 216-420-2200. Tickets to the gala benefit dinner are available by calling Liz Lindecke, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic at 216 445-0099.

For more information on The Scott Hamilton CARES Initiative call the CARES hotline at 216-445-2573 or visit www.scottcares.org .