Celene’s Angels provide aid in the fight against breast cancer
A crowd of 200 people packed the VFW Post 1409 for the Celene’s Angels Fundraiser.
Celene Petre addresses the crowd at the Sept. 26 fundraiser held by Celene’s Angels at VFW Post 1409 in New Eagle.
The logo for Celene’s Angels, a nonprofit charity that helps men and women in the 724 and 412 area codes going through treatment for breast cancer
Celene Petre can’t help but be overwhelmed.
After all, the New Eagle resident and the charity group Celene’s Angels recently hosted a fundraiser at VFW Post 1409 in Monongahela that raised slightly more than $19,000. That money goes to aid men and women in the 724 and 412 area codes going through breast cancer. It’s just a continuation of what the nonprofit charity has done since 2019, help those patients as they go through chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.
The fundraiser featured a large basket auction, raffles and small games of chance as well as five games of bingo. Numerous businesses supported the event.
“We’re trying to make a difference and help as many people as we can,” Petre said. “We had a nice-sized crowd in attendance. We sold out of 200 tickets.”
Raising money for this cause is near and dear to the heart of the two-time cancer survivor. Petre and her team of “Angels” have raised money for 15 years in honor of, and now in memory of, her mother, Claudia Knaus, who died March 14, 2015, after battling breast cancer for 21 years.
But early fundraising efforts did not result in the money going where they wanted it to go. Celene’s Angels was created.
“For years, we had raised money every year for one charity and we found the money didn’t go out to help people,” Petre recalled. “We’re a strictly volunteer charity. None of us gets paid for doing what we do.”
Petre, 55, was informed of her initial cancer diagnosis on April 23, 2018, which started a long, arduous journey in the battle against breast cancer. It was a battle that involved many long hospital stays and included multiple cases of sepsis, as well as blood clots in both lungs.
“I had a very rough time,” Petre admitted.
She learned first-hand the struggles connected with cancer treatment, such as being unable to work, the roller-coaster of emotions and being ill after treatment. The impact on her, as well as her friends and family, was quite difficult. But the cancer went into remission.
Then on Valentine’s Day in 2020, Petre received a call from her oncologist that her cancer had returned. This was just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She received treatment during the pandemic and was the patient for the last surgery performed at UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital before it shut down for such procedures as a result of the pandemic.
The cancer has going into remission again, but the reoccurrence did come with complications with which Petre still deals.
“I’m doing fine now,” Petre said. “I made a promise that if I made it through all of this, I would do what I could to make a positive impact so no one else would have to go through what I went through. I was very fortunate that I had family and friends who stepped up and supported me.”
During the pandemic, Petre developed another method of raising money for the charity – painting.
Her oncologist and therapist suggested she paint angels, something of which she has quite a collection.
“I never painted a day in my life,” Petre said. “I painted an angel and posted it on social media and the next thing you know we’re selling angels for charity.”
Petre has sold more than 200 paintings, which have raised more than $6,000. There also are paintings of cardinals and butterflies – animals that people relate to as visits from lost loved ones.
“Here’s a girl who couldn’t even draw a stick figure,” Petre said of herself. “I still don’t understand it. I pick up a paint bush, start somewhere on the canvas and paint from there.”
The response to her paintings has been quite overwhelming for Petre. Something else by which she has been overwhelmed, and deeply touched, is the support she has received from so many, not the least of which are fellow classmates of the 1984 graduate of Ringgold High School.
“It’s just amazing how my class came together,” Petre said. “I have a classmate from Cleveland, Ohio, who drove paintings of his own here for the last two events. Old friends from school drop off things for auction at every event. That’s probably the most touching part of what we do. Because of others helping us raise money, we are able to go out and help people.”
That is the mission of Celene’s Angels – giving hope by providing necessities to those in need during breast cancer treatments.
“I’m just very, very thankful,” Petre said. “We’re all just trying to help. Our board of directors, our activities committee, who all give of their time and energy, we can’t do this without them.”
Celene’s Angels accepts donations year round. The organization’s website – www.celenesangels.org – provides a PayPal option for donations. Donations also are accepted by mail at Celene’s Angels, 338 Center Ave., New Eagle PA 15067.