Fashioned for Hope
Cancer…..unfortunately I can’t think of anyone in my vast circle of friends whose life has not in some way, shape or form been transformed by that word. In NYC alone, nearly 35,000 people are diagnosed with cancer. Each diagnosis affects not only the person diagnosed, but an entire circle of family and friends. Thankfully there are organizations that offer support, social and emotional, to all people with all types of cancer, as well as their families and friends, so that no one has to face cancer alone.
Having a mother who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Gilda’s Club has always been near and dear to me. Gilda’s Club is named for Gilda Radner, the brilliant comedian and one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. Gilda’s cancer psychotherapist Joanna Bull had encouraged Gilda to seek support from The Wellness Community, founded by Dr. Harold Benjamin in Santa Monica, California in 1982. Gilda shares extensively about her experiences at The Wellness Community in her book, “It’s Always Something”. It was her dream that anyone touched by cancer would be able to receive the kind of emotional and social support that she had found. After her death, her husband Gene Wilder, his friends Joel Siegel and Mandy Patinkin set out to fulfill Gilda’s wish that “no one should face cancer alone.” In 1991, they reached out to Joanna Bull and created the Gilda’s Club program and opened the first Clubhouse in New York City in 1995.
Since opening, Gilda’s Club NYC has offered a place where men, women and children living with cancer – and their families and friends – can join together to build social and emotional support as a supplement to medical care. The success of their flagship prompted the formation, in 2000, of Gilda’s Club Worldwide, an organization dedicated to developing a national network of clubhouses. Gilda’s Club NYC serves all five boroughs of NYC and strives to meet the growing needs of the cancer community by offering support and networking groups, workshops, lectures, social events, and children’s and teen programs all free of charge.
On Wednesday, June 29th, join ModaCYCLE.com, Lion’esque Media, and host Alex McCord in a designer clothing auction to raise money for Gilda’s Club. Designers contributing include Nanette Lepore, Tracey Reese, Chado Ralph Rucci, A. Detacher, Araks, Loris Diran and more of New York fashion’s most exciting names. It will be held at Millesime at the Carlton Hotel, 88 Madison Avenue. Admission is complementary. Come out, support and continue to help Gilda’s legacy grow!
RSVP to: http://fashionedforhope.charityhappenings.org/
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