June 2014 1 IN THIS ISSUE More than 270 guests helped to raise over $356,000 for Gilda’s Club New York City at this year’s sold- out 7th annual benefit luncheon, Celebrating Women Working & Living with Cancer, held on May 14th at the Metropolitan Club of New York. Anna Protopapas, President of Millennium: e Takeda Oncology Company and Global Head of Busi- ness Development at Takeda Phar- maceuticals received the Red Photo by: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com L-R: Anna Protopapas, Jami Rubin, Amy Robach, Fran Heller, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Lily Safani e 7th Annual Benefit Luncheon Celebrating Women Working & Living with Cancer We are very excited to announce that Gilda’s Club NYC was chosen to be the beneficiary of the EMCOR Penguin Pink Hard Hat Event for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. e EMCOR Penguin Pink Hard Hat Ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness Month continued on page 5 … continued on page 3 … What is this event you might ask? Begun six years ago, this national campaign involves thousands of 7th Annual Benefit Luncheon Announcing: e EMCOR Penguin Pink Hard Hat Ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness Month GCNYC Associate Board: Young professionals making a difference GCNYC Celebrates 19 Years Member Spotlight: Mary Elizabeth Williams GCNYC represents at the EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women & TD Five Boro Bike Tour New! Gilda Comes To You adds Mount Sinai to its list
Transcript
June 2014
1
IN THIS ISSUE
More than 270 guests helped to raise over $356,000 for Gilda’s Club New York City at this year’s sold-out 7th annual benefit luncheon, Celebrating Women Working & Living with Cancer, held on May 14th at the Metropolitan Club of
New York.
Anna Protopapas, President of Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company and Global Head of Busi-ness Development at Takeda Phar-maceuticals received the Red
Photo by: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com
L-R: Anna Protopapas, Jami Rubin, Amy Robach, Fran Heller, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Lily Safani
The 7th Annual Benefit Luncheon Celebrating Women Working & Living with Cancer
We are very excited to announce that Gilda’s Club NYC was chosen to be the beneficiary of the EMCOR Penguin Pink Hard Hat Event for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The EMCOR Penguin Pink Hard Hat Ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
continued on page 5 …
continued on page 3 …
What is this event you might ask? Begun six years ago, this national campaign involves thousands of
7th Annual Benefit Luncheon
Announcing: The EMCOR Penguin Pink
Hard Hat Ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
GCNYC Associate Board: Young professionals making a difference
GCNYC Celebrates 19 Years
Member Spotlight: Mary Elizabeth Williams
GCNYC represents at the
EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women& TD Five Boro Bike Tour
New! Gilda Comes To You
adds Mount Sinai to its list
2
Board of Directors Robert J. Easton, Chairman
Mark J. Alles Laura Bartlett
Rob Bochicchio Brian Cohen
Anthony N. Dalessio Robert C. Faulkner
Amanda Goddard, PhD Carl S. Goldfischer, MD Sharyn N. Lewin, MD
Ellen A. Lubman Matthew R. Patterson
Michael J. Posillico Andrea F. Rabney
Jami Rubin Francis J. Russo
Anthony J. Sartor Alexander Scott William Slattery
Associate BoardKrista Gundersen, Chair
Julia BartlettTracey Doolin
Whitnee GlinskiCourtney Greenspan
Blaike A. HannayMaxwell HornMegan KnurrJessica KriegerRachel Krieger
Andrew LevisonRada Milenovici
Ellie NewmanBridgette PayneAshley Sampson
Ari SchnitzerJaclyn Steinhart
John SwitzerJessica Trujillo
Stefani Zien
Staff Lily Safani, CEOMigdalia Torres
Deborah K. WilsonNadine Bartholomew Christine Braunstein
Since 2007, the Associate Board (AB) of Gilda’s Club NYC has been devot-ing its time and energy to supporting GCNYC through fundraising, partici-pating in activities such as the NYC Marathon and TD 5 Boro Bike Tour, and volunteering at numerous internal and external events.
These young professionals and phil-anthropic individuals are generous in their commitment to Gilda’s Club as evidenced by their recent fundraiser, The Gildie Awards.
Held this year at the music landmark Webster Hall on April 10th, the 3rd annual event attracted more than 125 individuals who enjoyed music by DJ Whitney and band Temporary Grace as well as delicious shrimp rolls do-nated by Luke’s Lobster and intoxicat-ing libations from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Palm Ale, and Fire Island Beer Company.
The highlight of the evening was a
moving speech by a young Gilda’s Club member, Emma Burger, who read from her 2012 award winning es-say she had written for GCNYC’s “It’s Always Something” Teen Essay Con-test. Rebecca Zorowitz Oren of Ooh La La Brands received the Heart of Gold Award and Board Chair, Krista Gundersen, received an award for her dedication and leadership to the AB and Gilda’s Club.
More than $12,000 was raised that evening to support our program. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to The Gildie Awards co-chairs, Ashley Sampson and Ari Schnitzer, and the entire board for making this such a successful event.
If you are interested in learning more about the AB or would like to be on the invite list for AB events and activi-ties, please contact:Michelle Ramlochan at [email protected]
Photos by: Wonderpug Graphics /Carolann Dematos
Young Professionals Making a Difference
Looking forward...
The AB and friends will be hosting its first Friday Happy Hour at City Winery on Friday, June 20 from 5:30-7:30. RSVPs are not necessary and all are welcome.
Social events will be scheduled through-out the summer. Please refer to the AB page on our website for updated listings.
Gilda’s Club New York City, Inc. 195 West Houston Street • New York, NY 10014
Deborah Wilson, Director of Development Pontip Rasavong, Development and Marketing Com-
munications Associate
3
EMCOR employees across the U.S. wearing EMCOR Penguin Pink Hard Hats on its job sites through-out the month of October and also forming huge human Pink Hard Hat Ribbons.
In New York City, the Pink Hard Hats will have the logos of Gilda’s Club NYC, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., and EMCOR Pen-guin. More than 700 people from our community, employees from EMCOR Penguin, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Gilda’s Club NYC will gather on October
7th at the Alexandria Center for Life Science-NYC to form the larg-est Human Pink Ribbon ever in New York City.
This campaign, which officially launched on June 2nd, has a goal to raise more than $100,000 for Gilda’s Club.
Visit www.gildasclubnyc.org to see how you can help, and to learn more about the The EMCOR Pen-guin Pink Hard Hat Event.
Protect Yourself. Get Screened Today.
… continued from page 1
HELP US REACH OUR GOAL!donatenow.networkforgood.org/
emcorpenguinpinkhardhatribbon
It’s hard to believe that 2014 marks 19 years since we’ve opened our red door to provide free social and emotional support to anyone living with cancer…and next year will mark our 20th Birthday!
Gilda’s Club NYC Celebrates 19 Years!
• Gilda Radner, our namesake, passed away from ovarian cancer in 1989.
• Gene Wilder (Radner’s husband), Mandy Patinkin, Joel Siegel, Alan Zweibel, and other friends of Radner’s, founded our NYC West Village clubhouse in a beautiful old townhouse on West Houston Street.
• More than 7,500 individuals have become members of GCNYC since we first opened our iconic red door in 1995.
• There are more than 11,000 visits annually by members and individuals to our clubhouse and external sites.
• We deliver our free program offsite at our hospital partners in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
• Educational lectures at the Clubhouse are free and open to the public.
• We currently have 26 weekly support groups. with cancer, caregivers, and those bereft.
DID YOU KNOW?
4
I initially got involved with Gilda’s Club for the same reason I suspect many of us here today make most of the decisions in our lives. I did it for my family. I had recently been rediagnosed with cancer, and it was bad. I was stage 4, and I was about to begin a brand new clinical trial that was likely my only hope. (Spoiler: I survived.) But cancer doesn’t just happen to the patient. It hits all the people close to her. And I knew that my spouse and two young daughters needed support as much as I did.
Throughout the difficult weeks and months that followed, Tuesdays became the most important night of the week because on Tuesdays, we came to Gilda’s. The girls went to Noogieland, Jeff went to the caretaker group, and I went to my wellness group.
But in addition to the support groups, our family soon availed ourselves of pretty much everything else Gilda’s has to offer. I could talk all day about the services Gilda’s
provides to its members -- the lectures and the classes and family movie night and Camp Sparkle, a free day camp services for children whose families are affected by can-cer. I could talk about how I fundraised and trained with Gilda’s marathon team while I was in treatment, and how meaningful it was to feel like not just a patient, but an ath-lete. But mostly I want to tell you about one night.
When you’re in a cancer community, sometimes you have loss. On this night, we had gone to pay our respects to a friend. His wife had been in the caretaker group with Jeff, and his son had been in Noogieland with my kids. Jeff
and I stood at the gathering talking to our other friends, until at a certain point I could hear laughter from the back of the room. I looked over and I saw this boy, who had just lost his father, playing with my girls. Like regular kids. And in that laughter I heard love. That is what I want to tell you that Gilda’s does.
Today, I’m very lucky to be cancer free. But not long ago I asked my younger daughter, who was 6 when I was first diagnosed, what she remembers about me from before I got cancer. And she told me: Nothing.
To be honest, sometimes I don’t remember who I was before cancer either. It’s intense to know that your child’s entire understanding of her mother, and by extension her childhood, will always be filtered through the lens of the disease that almost killed you. What makes it okay is Gilda’s Club. Because our family’s experience of cancer will always also be about the friends we made. The lessons we learned. And all the new memories we made.
Cancer can be a pretty chaotic situation, and it’s hard not to feel helpless. But whether we’re young or old, well or unwell, there’s always something we have control over, and it turns out it’s one of the most important things of all. It’s how we choose to love each other. I know this, because I’ve experienced it here. For all that cancer took away from my family and me, there’s so much we’ve been given. For all we can’t remember, there’s so much we’ll never forget. So I’d like to say thank you today to Gilda’s Club. And thank you to all of you for supporting it, and families like mine.
Mary Elizabeth Williams
“I looked over and I saw this boy, who had just lost his father, playing with my girls. Like regular kids. And in that laughter I heard love.”
Member Speaker at the 7th Annual Benefit Luncheon
5
The 7th Annual Benefit LuncheonCelebrating Women Working & Living with Cancer
More photos on our Facebook page!
Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors Platinum Benefactors
Red Door Benefactors
“It’s Always Something” BenefactorGoddard Family Foundation
Lisa Loopner PatronsArgot Partners • Covington & Burling LLP
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. • Joan & Bob Easton Faber Daeufer & Itrato PC • Forest City Enterprises
KPMG LLP • Lazard • William S. Slattery Esta Eiger Stecher • WilmerHale
In-Kind DonorsAlex Anthony Salon • Aveda • Belle Fleur New York • Blue Ribbon Bakery Kitchen • Candle 79 Carbone • City Winery • Crazy Sexy Wellness, LLC • Dirt Candy • Echo Design • Mike Fine
Forbidden Broadway NYC • Grand Life Hotels Great Performances • Hard Rock Café Times
Revlon • Damon Risucci • Satya JewelryStand Up NY • The Clam • Tumbador Chocolate
Roseanne Roseannadanna PatronJami Rubin
Goldman Sachs
Door Award and Fran Heller, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb received the Gilda Award.
ABC News Anchor and breast can-cer survivor Amy Robach was the guest speaker and host. Ms. Robach shared her own cancer journey with the guests as did Gilda’s Club member Mary Elizabeth Williams (read Mary Elizabeth’s speech on
page 4). Both had incredibly touch-ing stories which preceded the paddle raise, making this event the most successful luncheon ever.
“We are thrilled to have such an amazing guest speaker and distin-guished honorees at our benefit luncheon. These women have made significant contributions in their respective fields that have helped to improve the quality of life for cancer patients.
At Gilda’s Club, our focus is on pro-viding a comprehensive cancer sup-port program to anyone living with cancer – men, women, children and teens – 100% free of charge,” states Lily Safani, CEO of GCNYC.
We are very grateful for the support of our sponsors and donors who believe in our mission that no one should face cancer alone.
… continued from page 1
6
The first weekend in May is always an exciting time at Gilda’s Club NYC.
On Saturday May 3rd, staff members, Gilda’s Club program participants, and family and friends joined together in support of the EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women in New York City.
This year, Gilda’s Club had 24 volun-teers and 52 awesome team members raised over $8,000 towards
the fight against women’s cancers. We are truly honored to be a part of such an amazing event and extremely grateful for being a beneficiary for the 16th year in a row. Thank you to EIF Revlon Run/Walk for
Women, and all of our team members and volunteers for making this day so beautiful.
On Sunday May 4th, members of Gilda’s Bike Team made their way to the starting line of the TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour. They joined more than 32,000 riders to bike 40 miles through Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens,
Brooklyn and Staten Island. The team raised over $20,000 for Gilda’s Club and we couldn’t be more proud. Congratulations on completing the ride and a heartfelt thanks for your commitment to making a difference.
Gilda’s Club NYC Teams Make Their Miles Count
JUNE
7
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
For more information about any of the listed events, please visit our website at www.gildasclubnyc.org under Special Events or email [email protected]
We are excited to include Mount Sinai Hospital as one of our newest Gilda Comes To You (GCTY) partners.
Our partnership kicked off with a community breakfast reception on Wednesday, May 28th at the Rutten-berg Center. The program will offer a weekly Spanish speaking cancer support group, educational workshops and lectures beginning mid-June.
Gilda Comes to You is our offsite programming which allows Gilda’s Club NYC to extend cancer support to communities throughout the bor-oughs of New York City.
Gilda Comes To Mount Sinai Hospital
On Thursday, May 8th, members along with their family and friends celebrated at our Fiesta Social Event. The festivities included lively music and Latin dance instruction by Steve Kerner!
Thank you to El Toro Blanco for donating their delicious chips, salsas and guacamole and Cowgirl BBQ for donating their awesome chili, corn bread and brownie bites.
Fiesta Celebra-tion
June 3 Clubhouse Lecture
Health Literacy: The Most Important Tool for Your Health
June 12 Clubhouse Lecture
Becoming a Parent After Cancer - A Surrogacy Journey
June 13
Member Event GCNYC Birthday Party
June 20 Associate Board Networking Event
City Winery Happy Hour
June 30 Clubhouse Lecture
Chemobrain: How New Research can Help Survivors and Loved Ones Un-
derstand and Cope Effectively
July 4 Clubhouse Closed
July 10Associate Board Event
Summer Mixer for Young Professionals
September 30 Breakfast Club Series
Topic TBD
October 7 Special Event
EMCOR Penguin Pink Hard Hat Ribbon
November 2 TCS NYC Marathon
November 13 Benefit Event
19th Anniversary Benefit Gala
All Clubhouse Lectures are free and open to the public.
Please call 212.647.9700 to register.
JULY
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
Gilda’s Club New York City 195 West Houston Street New York, NY 10014 (212) 647-9700www.gildasclubnyc.org
@gildasclubnyc #gildasclubnyc
Gilda’s Club New York City creates welcoming communities of free support for everyone living with cancer – men, women, teens and children – along with their families and friends. Our innovative program is an essential complement to medical care, providing sup-port and networking groups, workshops, educational lectures and social activities, all free of charge.
