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Meet Your Neighbor: Julie Downs & Francine Sanchez
By Callie Thomas
“Soul Sisters” comes to mind when describing the friendship of 89012 residents Julie Downs and Francine Sanchez. While they are not blood relatives, they have found an uncanny number of similarities in their lives that have bonded them together to help children in our community.
Both ladies were born and raised in New Jersey, moved to Las Vegas in the early nineties, were students at UNLV and ended up in the same sorority pledge class. That’s a good start, but the connections persisted. They live one street away from each other in the same community and had their daughters almost exactly one month apart. Both Julie and Francine landed in the pharmaceutical industry, working for competing companies selling cardiac drugs. Sadly, the coincidences didn’t end there but continued as Julie’s daughter Miah and Francine’s daughter Soleil both became heart patients of the Children’s Heart Center of Nevada.
As a result, Julie and Francine became board members of the Children’s Heart Foundation, whose mission is to improve the care and quality of life for children in Nevada that are born with or develop heart problems. The board includes a unique and passionate group of parents who have gained firsthand knowledge of the emotional and financial toll exacted by a child’s heart conditions. The dynamic duo of Julie and Francine founded Operation HeartReach to fund the “Backpack Program,” an outreach effort to aid families in the hospital as well as Pediatric Heart Research. Both agree that they didn’t choose this charity – it chose them. The two were eager to talk with us about their families, their zest for life in the face of difficulty and their passion for moving mountains even when challenges are placed squarely in front of them.
The launch of Operation HeartReach began with an exciting silent auction affair. What were some of the unique offerings?
Sanchez: “Some of the auction items included Judith Ripka canary Eclipse earrings (featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things), a Los Angeles package that includes a ‘Dancing with the Stars’ experience featuring brothers Maksim and Valentin Chmerkovskiy and a New York City experience offering the winner’s choice of tickets to many of Manhattan”s premier TV show tapings. Proceeds from the event went to funding for congenital heart disease research in Nevada, and a portion of the funds helped launch the Family Backpacks program, which provides fully loaded backpacks with essential items for families who have a heart-afflicted child in the hospital.”
What other events have you participated in to raise funds for the Children’s Heart Foundation?
Downs: “Both our families have participated in Walk with the Heart of a Child by honoring Team Soleil (Francine’s daughter) and helped raise over $60,000 for the Foundation. This year, we will become Team HeartReach and welcome any new walkers!”
What do you hope to achieve through these organizations?
Sanchez: “I will do absolutely anything to raise public awareness for this under-resourced and under-recognized cause.”
Downs: “It means making sure no family ever feels alone in their journey with a sick child.”
There are many similarities between you. What are your differences?
Sanchez: “Well, I have three children and I remarried the love of my life (my husband Mario) at the Elvis Chapel for our fifth anniversary! I am also the reigning Mrs. Las Vegas-America and am competing in an adult beauty pageant (at age 37) to help bring awareness to Children’s Heart Foundation.”
Downs: “My husband Michael and I have been married for ten years and have our four year old daughter Miah. I did bungee jump in the Thomas and Mack parking lot as a freshman at UNLV, and I love trying out for game shows and actually won $6,000 on Press Your Luck!”
If given the opportunity, what would you say to inspire others?
Sanchez: “Live life in the moment and have no regrets!”
Downs: ‘Discover what is truly important in your life and focus on that. Be joyful and try to live in the present.’
