The John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary (JWCIA) will hold its annual membership luncheon and fashion show on Wednesday, September 28, at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The reception will begin at 11:00 a.m. and lunch will start at 12:00 noon.
John Wayne Cancer Institute patient Peggy Maddox will be the recipient of the 2005 Ellen Cooperman “Angel” Award. Diagnosed in 1984 with melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, Maddox was given a five to 10 percent chance of surviving, but she was the first person to receive the experimental melanoma vaccine developed by Dr. Donald Morton, the Institute’s Medical Director and Surgeon-in-Chief. Now, more than two decades later, Maddox devotes her life to projects that help others. She teaches classes on “Character Traits and Values” for children and is writing a book for caregivers and receivers called “On the Edge: Health Crisis Helping Yourself.”
“My life is a gift,” Maddox said. “and I live each day to the fullest.”
The Auxiliary will give its Public Service Award to to QVC’s FFANY “Shoes on Sale.” Now in its 12th year, this successful partnership has sold over one million pairs of shoes and raised over $20 million for breast cancer research and education programs, for which the Fashion Footwear Charitable Foundation was created.
The John Wayne Cancer Institute is one of several beneficiaries of the funds raised by this gala event. It is supported by members of the Fashion Footwear Association of the New York (FFANY).
“We are very pleased to be honoring QVC presents FFANY “Shoes on Sale,” said Joyce Green, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Development, John Wayne Cancer Institute. “This remarkable collaboration has done so much in the fight against breast cancer and the search for its cure.”
Featured during the “World Travel Fashion Show” will be fashions from the Spring/Summer 2006 collections of Camille Frances DePedrini, Eva Franco, Wendy Harrison’s Kushcush, Trina Turk, and Xin. All handbags will be provided by Lana Marks.
Actress Sharon Lawrence, who has appeared on stage, screen and television, is perhaps best-known for her role as Sylvia Costas Sipowicz, wife of Detective Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) in the NBC series, NYPD Blue. She can be seen this season on two ABC primetime dramas, “Boston Legal” and “Desperate Housewives” and in the upcoming films, “Nearing Grace” and “The Alibi.”
The John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary was founded in 1982 when two women who had been treated for breast cancer at the Institute pledged to help win the fight against the disease. They asked their friends to join their campaign and from the original nucleus of 14 women, the Auxiliary has grown to more than 800 members.
Funds raised at Auxiliary events support the John Wayne Cancer Institute, one of the world’s foremost cancer research centers, providing funds for research projects, equipment, and fellowships. Since its inception, the Auxiliary has raised more than $12 million.Luncheon co-chairs are Shirley Lipstone and Andrea Nelson Kopald. Tickets are $125 each, which includes annual membership dues. For information about the luncheon, call (310) 829-8324 or visit www.jwci.org.
