NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Jan. 22.
PORT ANGELES — Using her voice, Monica Henry hopes to help end cancer.
Henry, 36, of Port Angeles will perform Broadway and jazz classics live this evening at Harbinger Winery, 2358 U.S. Highway 101 W.
Henry will perform standards including “At Last,” “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ ” and “Good Morning, Heartache.”
Henry is a classically trained vocalist who studied music in college before deciding to pursue a career in social services, she said.
“This is something I do for fun,” she said.
Entrance to the concert, held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., is by donation, with all proceeds benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“I am trying to raise funds for Leukemia & Lymphoma [research], so any dollar amount — [even] a dollar — is appreciated,” Henry said.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in action since 1949, has been dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. The nonprofit is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services.
For more information about the concert, call Harbinger Winery at 360-452-4262.
The Big Climb
Henry also is raising money for the nonprofit as a participant in the Big Climb event March 20 in Seattle.
Henry has signed on to make the 788-foot vertical climb inside the stairway of the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, which stands as the second tallest building on the West Coast, according to www.skyviewobservatory.com.
The Big Climb event raises money through individual and team fundraising, sponsorship and entry fees, which is then invested in its mission to fund blood cancer research and support services for patients, organizers said.
“The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society doesn’t just do research, which I think is incredibly important, especially since that research [funding] has been getting cut every year,” Henry said.
“They really depend on fundraisers like this.”
With her fellow team members, Henry hopes — through various fundraising efforts including this concert — to raise $7,500 to donate to the nonprofit organization.
Thus far, the team has raised more than $3,000.
To donate online, visit http://tinyurl.com/PDNBigClimb.
Henry is passionate about this cause, she said, because cancer has personally affected her family and friends.
“This is my fifth year doing the Big Climb for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and I climb in memory of my grandfather,” she said.
Angus Watson, her grandfather, died of leukemia in 1993, she said.
Participating in the Big Climb “is just amazing,” she said.
“Seeing all the survivors and the individuals currently going through treatment . . . is an incredibly powerful event,” she said
“Going up the stairwell — on every level, there is pictures and ‘in memory’ written in honor of individuals who lost that battle, and it is just incredibly powerful.”
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
