submitted by Jeanne Casatelli, Communications Specialist, Questar III
Thirteen year old Kirstin Hodges, a Berlin Central Middle School eighth-grader, was being featured in the Melodies of Christmas event at Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady on December 16 through 19 with all proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center.
“If it wasn’t for the Children’s Hospital, I wouldn’t be here today.” Hodges said.
“Kirstin is evidence of how the funds raised through Melodies of Christmas are making a difference in the lives of Capital Region families,” her mother Ariel Hodges said. “Now one of the Albany Medical Center’s singers, Kirstin was diagnosed with a life threatening brain tumor at age eight. Thanks to the treatment Kirstin has received from the region’s only center for childhood cancer, our family can look forward to seeing her on stage again this year and for years to come.”
Now in its 31st year, the Albany Medical Center hosts the event with the Empire State Youth Orchestra and Empire State Youth Chorale with support from partners, CBS 6, Freihofer’s and Price Chopper.