Downtown storefronts are dressed up again for the Fourth Annual Team ANA 417 Downtown Holiday Window Challenge. While they spread holiday cheer, they also raise awareness for a Springfield nonprofit.
More than 20 businesses have decorated their windows and doors for the holiday season to benefit Team ANA 417. The organization is focused on raising awareness for benign brain tumor patients and their families.
“Team ANA 417 actually stands for Acoustic Neuroma Awareness,” said Jennifer Miller, founder of the nonprofit. “That is a certain type of benign brain tumor, but we saw such a need for overall awareness with benign brain tumors. We help all different types of benign brain tumor patients and their families.”
That includes financial assistance, which can be used for treatments, gas, groceries or anything else patients might need while undergoing care. That’s where 85 percent of the money Team ANA 417 raises goes. Ten percent goes to national research.
“We help a lot of people locally with financial assistance, support groups and specialized programs to help those that are dealing with benign brain tumor diagnoses,” Miller said.
Getting the community in the holiday spirit
The themes of creating community and keeping money local meshed well with the concept of the Downtown Holiday Window Challenge.
“The reason we decided to do the window challenge downtown is we love the holidays, and we used to love, back in the day, seeing photos of the Heers building and how much they put into decorating their windows and getting people to come downtown and do something together as a community to get into the Christmas spirit,” Miller said. “It just kind of evolved post-COVID into a way people can get involved in the holiday while also social distancing. We wanted to help local businesses during the COVID pandemic get people back downtown to support local.”
Want to check out the windows? Visit the Downtown Springfield Association website for a list of participating businesses. Go for a stroll or drive through the neighborhood to check out all the displays, then cast your vote at itsalldowntown.com. The winning window gets a traveling trophy. Voting ends Dec. 11, but the windows will still be up through the holiday season for public viewing. The Downtown Springfield Association donates back 100 percent of the proceeds raised by the event.
A personal connection to the cause
The cause of benign brain tumors is a personal one for Miller. She was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma when she was 20 years old.
“It changed my life forever,” Miller said. “I actually had so many people come up to me and say, ‘You’re so lucky it’s benign. Congratulations.’ Then they’d go on their merry way, and I was left with single-sided deafness in my right ear, facial paralysis, balance issues, anxiety, depression, all kinds of different stuff to deal with.”
But Miller was determined to make a difference.
“I saw such a need to create more awareness and education in our local community why benign brain tumors are very life-changing,” she said. “That one-time diagnosis isn’t just treated and healed. It’s a lifelong journey and being directly impacted with that I know how it is. I’m 14 years post-surgery and not a day goes by that I don’t think about what happened to me or how it’s changed my life. But instead of dwelling on the past, I decided to create a healthier way for me to undergo therapy by getting out in the community and educating people more on benign brain tumors.”
For more information, or to donate to Team ANA 417, visit their website.
Downtown Holiday Window Challenge businesses
417 Cocktails — 211 S. Market Ave. #103
5 Pound Apparel — 412 South Ave.
AIDS Project of the Ozarks — 303 Park Central West
Black Sheep Burgers & Shakes — 209 E. Walnut St.
Blue Room Comedy Club — 420 W. College St.
BookMarx — 325 E. Walnut St.
Craft Axe Throwing — 431 S. Jefferson Ave., Suite 132A
Crystalline Velvet — 306 E. Walnut St.
Downtown Springfield Association — 134 Park Central Square
Formed: An Artist Collective — 210 E. Walnut St., Suite 100
Gailey’s Breakfast Cafe — 220 E. Walnut St.
Great Southern Bank — 331 South Avenue
Greek Belly — 320 E. Walnut St.
Green House Coffee + Affagato Bar — 431 S. Jefferson Ave., Suite 172
History Museum on the Square — 154 Park Central Square
J.L. Long Traders — 318 W. Walnut St.
Normans Bridal — 317 South Avenue
Paragon Architecture — 637 W. College St.
Queen City Collectors — 412 E. Walnut St.
Seattle Roast — 401 South Avenue
Snail Art Gallery — 204 S. Campbell Ave.
The Downtown Church — 413 E. Walnut St.
