Holiday Party For Kids Whose Parent Died Of Cancer Held By Saint Peter's University Hospital

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — On Dec. 5, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, located in New Brunswick, hosted its 19th annual Oncology Kids Holiday Party and Scholarship Awards Program.

This is a Christmas party for New Jersey children who lost a parent to cancer; the idea for the party originated from a group of oncology nurses at Saint Peter’s who cared for the patients, and wanted to do something for their children.

Initially, the party hosted 14 children who lost a loved one to cancer and who had been treated at Saint Peter’s. Since then, attendance has grown to more than 100 and includes not only children and teens, but college- and high school-aged individuals who have returned year after year.

"The event has become so much more than a holiday party — we’ve built a ‘family’ that delivers hope, resilience, and lifelong friendships," said Saint Peter's oncology nurse Avril Keldo, one of the nurses who started the party. "It's not just the patients that we get to know, but their families, as well, given that many are at the hospital for ongoing treatment and/or hospitalizations.”

Over the years, the celebration has grown to include a meaningful college scholarship program, with recipients announced during the festivities.

This year’s scholarship was awarded to Nicholas Mercado, 20, of Helmetta (Middlesex County), a junior at Kean University. Mercado, who is majoring in marketing, has been attending the Saint Peter’s Oncology Kids Holiday Party since he was nine years old, which was when his father died of cancer.

When asked why he continues to return to the event year after year, Mercado said, “The individuals that attend really understand what I’ve been through, and I understand them. Initially, I looked forward to seeing the nurses that treated my father and my grandfather and even though some of them are no longer working there, there’s a group of my peers that reunite there and we look forward to seeing each other.”

Mercado was born at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. His father and grandfather were both treated there at the same time, both battling cancer. Mercado's grandfather died in November 2013 and three months later, his father, in February of 2014. He expressed his gratitude for the scholarship that will assist with his tuition expenses.

Mercado said that he looks forward to completing his degree at Kean. In addition to his studies, he recently took up golf, a sport that his father enthusiastically embraced, so it’s one way that Mercado continues to honor his legacy. He said one of his early memories of the compassionate care exhibited by Saint Peter’s oncology staff was a nurse named Oscar. There were many days after Oscar’s nursing shift had ended that he visited Mercado’s father at his bedside, just to chat and offer emotional support. Unfortunately, Mercado returned to the Oncology Kids Holiday Party one year only to learn that Oscar had also passed from cancer, something he chose not to share with his patients, all the while supporting them in their fight.

In 2012, Celeste Evans, whose husband C. David Evans had passed away from cancer at Saint Peter’s, decided to ensure the scholarship would be sustainable year after year and support the higher education goals of these children. As a single mother whose daughter Carla started attending the Oncology Kids Holiday Party at age four, Celeste knew the challenges that some of these children would now face having not only lost a parent to cancer, but perhaps facing the financial impact of losing the family’s breadwinner as well.

She and her husband were both advocates of higher education and Celeste felt strongly that making sure the scholarship continued every year was the best way to honor his legacy.

For more information or to donate to the scholarship fund, visit cdevansscholarship.org.