It was a glorious sunny week with many causes raising money for important breast cancer services and research and me having my children with me getting and giving big hugs — such joy!
It was an impressive occasion to see the stunning ballroom at The Breakers packed with beautiful people supporting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation founded by Evelyn H. Lauder. The family is still very much involved and the event was hosted by Aerin Lauder. The Evelyn H. Lauder Humanitarian Award was presented to the Quick family by William P. Lauder. Donna McKay, BCRF president/CEO, thanked the extraordinary committee members that helped make the event possible, raising over $1 million.
A bonus for the donors was a fashion show by my favorite designer, Oscar de la Renta. Thanks to my friend Louise Braver I had a ringside seat as the models approached the stage and the oohs and ahs and applause from the audience were a tribute to the creative designs presented.
Before the fashion show the audience was treated to a conversation/symposium on the latest breakthroughs in breast cancer featuring Larry Norton, MD, the Scientific Director of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Dr. Judy Garber, the Scientific Director of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School. It was an enlightening discussion for all of us and our loved ones who have had breast cancer.
So many beautiful people helping the beautiful cause!
I’m sure Evelyn Lauder is looking down from heaven saying “I’m proud of my family for keeping the tradition and supporting such important research.”
The next day also at The Breakers was another packed room this time for the benefit of the Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope whose theme was “Shop The Day Away” luncheon and they also had a record-breaking fundraising day.
What’s extraordinary about being in Palm Beach are the generous people who make sure that great causes get great help.
Cancer Alliance CEO Stan Collemer and his board invited again this year Sara Ferguson the Duchess of York, bestselling author, philanthropist and royal family member, who was their outstanding speaker.
I was honored to be a guest at a cocktail party the night before at the newly reopened Palm Hotel where the Duchess mingled and I learned more about the causes she supports. As a recovered cancer patient she has devoted herself to put the spotlight on the groups that help people with cancer.
She shared her travels speaking around the world and I was struck by a program she’s created that is operating in the United States. It’s a concept of creating space for teens getting cancer treatments that is more teen-friendly. The nurses wear jeans and there’s a pool table and other age-appropriate activities to make the kids feel more comfortable. How simple but brilliant. Her goal is to see these hospital units set up all over the country. We promised to meet and talk after about the details of her goal.
She’s taking her position of power and celebrity and using it for good. She’s charming, beautiful and friendly with a brilliant vision. It was a night I will cherish in my memory book!
The next day I was delighted to hear Jennifer Raab, the brilliant former president of CUNY Hunter College, speak at the Dale Coudert Institute luncheon as the new CEO of the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute (NYSCF). She explained at the lunch the stem cell work of her company researching with the hope of impacting a long list of diseases.
Hopefully the success of their work will realize the promise of stem cell research and we can all live longer.
Going off “the grid” and taking time to be with my children is pure delight. I feel the warmth of their love and lavish them with hugs and kisses, fortunately without much resistance.
What a week it was, giving and getting memories built for a lifetime.
Love to you, my dear readers.
