Portland, OR. It was high-fives all around as Children’s Cancer Association (CCA) raised $1.4 million at its 17th annual Wonderball gala on October 7th. Leaders Rosemary Colliver, founder Regina Ellis and Andy Lytle celebrated the donations which will fuel CCA’s mission of prescribing joy to seriously ill children and their families. Organizers welcomed nearly 850 supporters to the Oregon Convention Center for an “Age of Aquarius” themed night they say was inspired by the abundant love and optimism of the Woodstock era.
Singer-songwriter, Kyle Craft, sings Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ and is joined onstage by CCA-served kids and teens.
Regina Ellis, CCA Founder & Chief Joy Officer, stops to thank raffle ticket sellers, Moxie and Aven.
Albert Menashe, CCA Board Member, Attorney & Shareholder at Gevurtz Menashe; Julie Menashe; Grant Feltz, Wieden+Kennedy; John Christianson, Estate Planning Attorney at Gevurtz Menashe
Andrea Corradini, CCA Board Member, Senior Director, Women’s NSW Footwear at Nike; Regina Ellis, CCA Founder & Chief Joy Officer
Party guests included Sandy Bodecker, VP Special Projects, Nike Inc.; Tanya Cerda; Cholee Thompson, Ryan Artists; David Brown, longtime CCA Chemo Pal; and their friends.
Andy Lytle, CCA Board Chair, Division VP – Western US at Jackson Family Wines; Jim Haven, Creative Director; Jessi Duley, CCA Board Member, Founder & Instructor at Burn Cycle; Mary Lytle
Keynote speakers, Andy and Ruth Soria Zuniga, share their family’s story with Wonderball guests.
Chris Funk, CCA Board Member and multi-instrumentalist with The Decemberists, starts the show with a guitar solo guests call, thrilling.
Party guests included Clare Hamill, CCA Founding Board Chair, Vice President, Nike Growth Initiatives at Nike; Heidi O’Neill, President, Direct to Consumer, Nike Inc.; Patrick O’Neill; Marcus Harvey, Owner, Portland Gear; Sarah Marshall, MyMusicRx ATX Champion; and their friends.
Paul Gulick, CCA Board Chair Emeritus, 2008-10, and his table guests
Lead Sponsor PDX Property Group filled the table with guests that included John Powers, CCA Ambassador Board Co-Chair, Broker of PDX Property Group at Keller Williams Realty and Chris Suarez, Principal Broker, CEO of PDX Property Group of Keller Williams.
Presenting Sponsor, Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield’s table, which included Scott Burton, Director, Revenue Management & Portfolio Positioning, Cambia Solutions; Angela Dowling, President, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, and Chief Sales Officer; and their guests.
Jeff Nyburg, Regional Director at Carter’s | OshKosh B’gosh; CS Sheffield, CCA Ambassador Board Co-Chair, Senior Therapeutic Specialty Consultant, Pfizer Oncology; Jennifer Nyburg; Angela Sheffield.
CCA staff members welcome guests at registration amid tapestries and Wonderball branded prayer flags.
Macie House, CCA Board Member, Managing Director, Baird, Regina Ellis, CCA Founder & Chief Joy Officer; Suzann Baricevic Murphy, CCA Board Member, Owner/President at (W)here Inc.
Steve Blake, CCA Board Member and former NBA Player; Regina Ellis, CCA Founder & Chief Joy Officer; Kristen Blake, Health & Wellness Coach
Serene Perkins,(center) CCA Board Member, Director of Surgical and Clinical Research, Legacy Research Institute Legacy Health, Regina Ellis, CCA Founder & Chief Joy Officer
Served by CCA as a teen and now a pre-med student at PSU, Sarah Florig shared her emotional story with Wonderball guests.
Guests enjoyed silent and live auctions, a seated dinner, inspiring family speakers and live, Woodstock era music throughout the night. Portland jam band frontman Lewi Longmire’s LT Red and the Hazy Visions kicked off the live performances, which included a rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Star-Spangled Banner” performed by Chris Funk of The Decemberists. Other performers included Brandon Nicolai and New York-based cabaret singer Amber Martin.
Décor included Indian tapestries, marigold garlands, and buttons and prayer flags with the reimagined protest slogan “Cancer is not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things”. A Moroccan menu and Summer of Love themed drinks were served to complete the aesthetic. Late night revelers also enjoyed an after-party with DJ Anjali at Spirit of 77.
A record-breaking paddle raise was led by auctioneer Kelly Russell of Artisan Auctions following Regina Ellis’ keynote speech and PSU pre-med student, Sarah Florig’s, inspiring story. CCA-served family, Ruth and Andy Soria Zuniga, also shared the many ways CCA has supported their family during their 2-year-old daughter’s treatment.
“At CCA, we are JOY seekers. For the last 22 years, we have asked ourselves repeatedly: what can JOY do?” said Regina Ellis, Founder and Chief Joy Officer of Children’s Cancer Association in her address. “We are the only organization working to position JOY as best practice in pediatric hospitals across the nation by delivering innovative programs that transform a moment with music, friendship and nature. Because of the generosity in this room, last year we served 31 percent more children and teens, how, when and where they preferred, and delivered over 92,000 service interactions across the United States.”
This event was made possible by the presenting sponsor, Regence BlueCross Blue Shield of Oregon. Additional sponsors included PDX Property Group and Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel.
About Children’s Cancer Association (CCA)
The Children’s Cancer Association knows that for seriously ill children and their families every moment is precious. That’s why our programs leverage music, friendship, play, and resources to create transformative moments of joy for 20,000 children, teens, and their family members each year. We believe kids deserve long, wonderful lives. Or at the very least, short wonderful lives. Unlike many organizations dedicated to the worthy goal of someday finding a cure for cancer, CCA is all about creating joy today. See our programs in action at JoyRx.org.
Portland, OR. Nearly 300 donors and community leaders joined scientists from OHSU, and around the world, to celebrate the launch of a collaboration between the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and the British-based charity, Cancer Research UK. Jay Leno hosted the panel discussion featuring prominent leaders in the international fight against cancer. The event at the Sentinel Hotel preceded the three-day Sondland-Durant Early Detection of Cancer Conference presented by the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK.
Sir Harpal Kumar, chief executive officer, Cancer Research UK; Brian Druker, M.D., director, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute; panel discussion moderator Jay Leno
Gordon Sondland, CEO of Provenance Hotels, and Katy Durant, managing partner of Atlas Investments (Gordon and Katy are founders of the Gordon D. Sondland & Katherine J. Durant Foundation); Mavis and Jay Leno
Portland mayor-elect Ted Wheeler; Brian Druker, M.D., director, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute; Travis Knight, president and CEO, LAIKA
The June 21st event was a kick-off for the “Reimagine Hope” conference.
From the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute:
The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is an international leader in cancer research and personalized cancer treatment. The director, Brian Druker, M.D., helped usher in the era of personalized cancer medicine with his discovery that cancer cells could be shut down by disabling the molecules that drive their growth without harming healthy cells. The drug that resulted from that research, Gleevec®, revolutionized how cancer is treated. It also inspired a new wave of exploration of treatments that target cancer-causing molecules.
Ending cancer as we know it –
With the mission of ending cancer as we know it, the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute continues to build its scientific and clinical leadership and cancer treatment resources. Public support and private philanthropy – including a transformative $100 million gift from Nike Chairman Phil Knight and his wife Penny in 2008 – have provided crucial resources to advance our progress.
Most recently, Dr. Druker’s plans to advance the early detection of cancer beyond methods used today, so that it’s possible to catch and treat the biological triggers of the disease, inspired Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, to pledge a $500 million donationto Knight Cancer if OHSU raised an additional $500 million as part of a two-year fundraising campaign. Thousands of donors from across the country and around the globe stepped up to the Knight Cancer Challenge, and OHSU announced the completion of the challenge on June 25, 2015. Read about our progress and learn more at onwardohsu.org.
Portland, June 25th, 2014. At the Spirit of Generosity Awards United Way of the Columbia-Willamette recognized exceptional donors, companies and volunteers who contributed to the organization’s success during the 2013-14 fundraising season. The celebration at the Winningstad Theater drew 275 people and gave leaders the chance to thank donors for the $21,631,102 raised in the 2013-14 local United Way campaign. Pictured are: Patricia Bussey, Chief Development Officer, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette; Tiffiny Burkey, Network Division Software Lab Manager, Intel; Barbara Forrer, Intel retiree; Jill Eiland, Corporate Affairs Manager, Intel; Maksim Drotenko, Community Affairs Manager, Intel; Love Centerwall, Vice President, Corporate Relations, United Way; Donald Braden, Director – Resource Development Operations, United Way. Intel won the Corporate Leadership Award as well as the Largest Corporate Gift and Largest Employee Gift awards.
Funds raised will go to break the cycle of childhood poverty in the four-county region, as well as to nonprofits selected by individual donors. (Photo Credit: Jessica Love, Perfectly Blossom Photography)
Shawn Butler, Operations Manager, UPS; Lyle Arnett, Operations Manager, UPS; Kevin Church, Division Manager, UPS; Wes Walker, Operations Manager, UPS; Adam Crawford, Corporate Relations Executive, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. Church won the Employee Campaign Coordinator of the Year award.
Carol Aaron, Senior Vice President for Cu¬lture and People, PeaceHealth; Tamera Millington Bhatti, Director, Human Resources, PeaceHealth; with additional PeaceHealth employees. PeaceHealth won the Campaign Chair’s Award, Best New Company Campaign Award and Largest New Corporate Gift Award.
Improve lives, strengthen communities and advance equity by mobilizing the caring power of people across our metro area.
ACTIONS
Ignite a community-wide social movement thereby mobilizing thousands to action—to give, advocate and volunteer—to improve the conditions in which they live
Galvanize and connect all sectors of society—individuals, businesses, nonprofits, faith communities and governments—to create long-term social change that produces healthy, well-educated and financially stable individuals and families
Raise, invest and leverage millions of dollars annually to create and support innovative programs and approaches which generate sustained impact in local communities
Hold ourselves accountable to our steadfast commitment to equity and continually measure improvement in education, financial stability and health
VALUES
Collective impact: We are better together; United Way inspires people to get involved and focuses our collective resources for amplified results.
Equity: We recognize inequities in our community and will prioritize our resources to level the playing field for those communities most impacted by these inequities.
Service: We believe volunteerism transforms our communities and ourselves.
Connection: Our portfolio of relationships—corporate, nonprofit, government, faith and philanthropic—is unique and strengthens our ability to collaborate, convene, leverage and achieve change.
Integrity: We act with integrity that justifies trust, and we take responsibility for our relationships and results.
Innovation: We support new and better ways to solve old problems.
Pursuit of excellence: We adapt and learn from both our successes and mistakes.
Passion: We are tenaciously committed to a better community and to building a modern United Way to drive positive social change.
– See more at: http://www.unitedway-pdx.org/mission#sthash.1FcmTmok.dpuf
Portland, August 14, 2012. – Artists Rep begins its 30th Anniversary season on September 4 with the World Premiere of Aaron Posner’s And So It Goes…, directed by Posner. This quirky love letter to the human race flows from Kurt Vonnegut’s first collection of short stories, Welcome to the Monkey House. The play runs through October 7 on the Alder Stage, 1516 SW Alder, Portland, OR 97205.
Can we ever protect ourselves from the idiocy of our hearts? Down a well-worn path, hand-in-hand, take a walk…through leaves and over bridges, breathe in the soul’s seductive moments through three love stories set in mythological small-town America. It’s 1962 New England when we join Tom, our tour guide, for a stroll with a host of hearts just like our own. Along the circuitous course of love we travel with our new friends hoping to catch a genuine glimpse of humankind’s most elusive sentiment in the wonderfully flawed characters muddling along before us.
Playwright and Director Aaron Posner wrote the first version of And So It Goes…, under the title Who Am I This Time?, in the 1980s while at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre.He said back then adaptation was often done in a strictly narrative style, that it was just a matter of “taking short stories and doing them on stage.”
25 years later, after several more incarnations of that production and an even deeper understanding and appreciation of Kurt Vonnegut’s work, Posner wrote And So It Goes….
“My imagination weaved the stories together in a more fluid, connective way,” he said at the production’s first rehearsal.
Posner referenced what Critic Robert Scholes said about the author of 14 novels including Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions and Cat’s Cradle: “Kurt Vonnegut puts bitter coating on sweet pills.” Posner said it is Vonnegut’s ability to “portray the difficulties of being human beings with optimism, hopefulness, love and texture” that enables his stories to come to life on the stage.
And So It Goes…
Written by: Aaron Posner
Adapted from stories by: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Directed by: Aaron Posner
Featuring: Tim True, Valerie Stevens, Andy Lee-Hillstrom, Kayla Lian, Alex Hurt, Leif Norby, Sarah Lucht
Performance Dates: Sept. 4 – Oct. 7
Wednesday through Sunday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2pm
Wednesday matinee – Sept. 26 at 11am
Opening Night – Friday, Sept. 7 at 7:30pm
Aaron is a freelance director and playwright, an Associate Artist at both the Folger Theatre in Washington DC and the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and is a founding Artistic Director of Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company. Aaron has directed at major regional theatres from coast to coast including Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, American Player’s Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, Cal Shakes, Children’s Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Studio Theatre, Theatre J, Woolly Mammoth and many more. Aaron won Barrymore Awards for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Director), and The Chosen (Playwright), both at the Arden. He has won the Helen Hayes Awards for Best Director three of the last eight years, all for work at the Folger: Measure For Measure, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Cyrano. His many published and produced adaptations include The Chosen, My Name Is Asher Lev, Ellen Foster adapted from Kaye Gibbons, Third & Indiana adapted from Steve Lopez, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men adapted from David Foster Wallace, and Sometimes A Great Notion adapted from Ken Kesey. His musical adaptation of Mark Twain’s A Murder, A Mystery & A Marriage (with James Sugg) was nominated for 10 Barrymore Awards and the Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play.
His new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, entitled Stupid Fu*king Bird will premiere at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in May of 2013. Aaron is an Eisenhower Fellow, holds a B.S. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, is from Eugene, Oregon, and lives in Maryland with his wife, actress Erin Weaver, and his tiny daughter, Maisie.
Artists Repertory Theatre
The 2012/13 Artists Repertory Theatre season is presented by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Ronni Lacroute/WillaKenzie Estate. The 2012/13 print media sponsor is The Oregonian and the radio sponsor is KINK.FM. Season hotel sponsor is Hotel deLuxe. Other support comes from Regional Arts Culture Council, Work for Art, Oregon Arts Commission, All Classical and Maletis Beverage.
Portland’s longest-running theatre company, Artists Repertory Theatre celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Over the past three decades Artists Rep has made a name for itself offering adventurous plays – comedies, dramas and musicals alike – that are supremely entertaining, thoughtful and provocative. Artists Rep feeds our community’s artistic soul with premieres, re-imagined classics, new play development and educational outreach.
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