Invoking the name of Santa’s wife might set visions of sugar plums dancing in one’s head, but for the Knox-based Mrs. Claus Club, the moniker has become synonymous with one word – believe.
“We believe that we can help people battle cancer, because you have to believe in yourself,” said Mrs. Claus founder Tiki Kahle. “That’s why we went with Santa and the mystical magical kind of thing.”
The group of women trace their humble foundations back to a dinner in 2004 when about 50 women gathered for a Ladies’ Night Out in the Knox fire hall to raise money to buy wigs for cancer patients who had lost their hair.
So without disrupting the status quo, Kahle decided the women would have their own night.
Flash forward 15 years and the club now helps both men and women across Clarion County with virtually anything they need, providing them with spa days, taking groups on trips to see sporting events and theater shows and organizing benefit events like Hoops for Hope.
The crown jewel of the organization comes in the form of what they call a “Believe Basket,” which is a collection of items like a pillow and blanket, perfume-free skin care, a journal and gift cards for food and gas to help them in their journey.
“We try to make them appear, kind of like how Santa leaves presents,” Kahle said.
Kahle said the group tries to keep up with everyone staring down a cancer battle in Clarion County, but they can’t reach everyone as the service relies solely on word of mouth.
“This is all word of mouth, we don’t advertise,” Mrs. Claus board member Jodi Rhea said as she manned the electronic hub behind the scenes.
To support the club, the Ladies’ Night Out has become a veritable bazaar of auctions and donation opportunities. Hundreds of items donated from around the county sit on display around the crowd of women who spend their evening intermingling with each other and treasures.
Nearly 340 tickets were sold for this year’s Ladies Night Out, which was held Nov. 2. The entire night takes on a festive theme with the entire venue lit up like a Christmas card and women dressed in their holiday best. The picture is completed with each table deciding on a theme and decorating to the nines.
A rack of mason jars with table numbers sits at the front of the building serving as both a donation center and a place for the ladies to vote for their favorite table.
“It’s like a fun fund-raiser,” Rhea said.
The special thing about Ladies’ Night Out, however, comes from the fact the vast majority of the ladies have been touched by cancer in some fashion.
Some hold the knowledge close to their hearts, and others display it proudly at their tables, like the ladies who held a tea party in honor of Knox resident Melissa Johnson, who lost her two-year battle with cancer on Sept. 27.
For Kahle, the whole concept of the Mrs. Claus Club was born out of homage to her late “Grammy Graham,” who lost her cancer battle when Kahle was just 15.
“We would go to visit my gram when she was battling cancer. She always kept herself very well, I just remember the pride it would give her to put her wig on, it made her feel good,” Kahle said.
“I never wanted to do the wigs, I didn’t think I’d be good at it,” said stylist Gaylene Courson. “But working with these women and watching them feel good about themselves, you just turn into a puddle.”
Courson said the best part of the experience is when they get to tell their customer that the wig has been paid for.
“It has benefited tons of people from our community,” added owner and stylist Mel Schmader.
For Kahle’s mother Kathy Wilson, whose mother was Jeanne Taylor Graham (Grammy Graham), watching the club grow to touch the lives of so many has made her “extremely” proud.
“It’s just grown so much,” Wilson said as she watched a crowd of women giggle their way through a photo-booth session.
Another family member who has been around from the beginning, Kahle’s niece Rachel Riley, added a unique perspective.
“It’s really cool to see. I remember when it started out with us (Rachel and her sister Molly) running around in ‘Tiki’s little helpers’ shirts … to grow up and actually understand what this is about and just to know my aunt does this is really cool,” Riley said.