More than 320 guests attended CancerCare’s Annual Spring Gala this past Thursday, June 14 at The Mandarin Oriental in New York City. The event raised more than $520,000 in support of our free services for people affected by cancer.
Paddles up!
CancerCare CEO Helen H. Miller welcomes the evening's guests
The evening’s festivities included both a silent and live auction featuring exclusive, one-of-a-kind items including “Best of New York City” experiences, exotic luxury getaways, designer merchandise, and gourmet food and wine packages.
Actress and advocate S. Epatha Merkerson
Actress and CancerCare advocate S. Epatha Merkerson was honored with CancerCare’s “Help & Hope” Award, which was presented by Academy Award-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg. Merkerson, best known for her role on the long-running NBC series “Law & Order,” is a longtime advocate for lung cancer research and awareness. Her “Law & Order” character, Lt. Anita Van Buren, notably faced a cervical cancer diagnosis in the drama’s final season, bringing awareness to women coping with the diagnosis.
CancerCare client Jonah Eller-Isaacs
CancerCare client Jonah Eller-Isaacs was also honored during the evening, taking the stage to deliver a moving account of how CancerCare helped him cope with a diagnosis of stage IV melanoma at age 28. Jonah said:
Every time I’ve felt overwhelmed…CancerCare has been there. They’ve done so much more than help me cope – they’ve helped me develop lasting tools to manage the heavy burden of my diagnosis. My counselor, Sarah Kelly, has taught me not only how to deal with my illness, but how to be a better, stronger version of myself.
Learn more about Jonah, and read his speech in its entirety, on Jonah’s blog, GROINSTRONG.
The evening also featured a moving video of three CancerCare clients sharing their stories of how CancerCare helped them cope with their diagnoses:
View a photo gallery from the 2012 Annual Spring Gala on our Facebook page.
CancerCare sincerely thanks all of our supporters and sponsors who helped make this year’s Gala such a success!
Whoopi Goldberg with CancerCare clients Jonah Eller-Isaacs, Paulette Kennedy, and Donna Spano
The personal stories shared by everyone in the video is very touching to me. Having known Donna for many years and watching her go through this very difficult time in her life was something I will never forget.
However, I can say she always had hope and came to work with a smile on her face. She was very devoted to Peter and she is a true inspiration to all of us due to the way she handled her own health problems as well. She has a deep appreciation for Cancer Care and has always shared wonderful stories with us on how supportive the staff has been to her.
Donna is a remarkable lady that I am proud to know.