The Quicken Loans Arena was transformed into Alice in Wonderland on Wednesday (Oct. 18) as the Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the annual "Big Shots and Little Stars" fundraiser, which benefits Flashes of Hope and The Children Tumor Foundation.
More than 40 pediatric cancer survivors and fighters were the stars of the night. In addition to their teammates, Cavs players were joined by The Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, and other Wonderland characters. In its ninth year, the event has raised over $1 million each year toward pediatric cancer research.
There was a live auction then each of the Cavs was paired up with kids receiving pediatric care to walk down the runway for a fashion show. LeBron James, JR Smith, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade, and Isaiah Thomas were among the players walking the runway with kids as some of them broke out dance moves, high-fives, and smiles. James carried a young girl, Kaleia, who appeared nervous at first but warmed up to the spotlight. Prior to hitting the runway, James played with her, bringing a smile to the precious girl's face and going viral on social media.
Asked on Thursday what he gets out of an event like Big Shots and Little Stars, James replied with an emotional answer.
"Kind of two things, to be honest," James said of his takeaways.
"It's sad. It's sad when kids that young have illnesses like that. And for what reason? Why? They didn't have no control over it. And it's sad. Obviously, we hope for all of them to be as strong as they can and to make through whatever they're going through and that is always the hope for the prayers and everything and we want that. We want that for all our little stars from last night. But it just sucks that they have to go through anything like that. Some of them had to leave the event last night and go back into the hospital. That's never -- our little kids and our little stars, we never want that for them. So it's sad. When I left the event, I was sad. The whole event, I was sad that something like that -- they have to go through that."
Source: WKYC
