The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the world’s most promising cancer research, hosted a special evening – the “This Is It” Gala – on Saturday, August 23, 2014, from 6.30pm at the stunning Parrish Art Museum at 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY.
Nearly 250 guests were in attendance of the event in support of the 10th Annual Charles Evans PCF Pro-Am Tennis Tournament held from August 22 – 24, 201, raising $1.5 million in support of prostate cancer research.
This Is It was a fun evening of cocktails, dining, quizzes and dancing which included a surprise show by Grammy Award-winning artist Kenny Loggins, who performed many of his favorite hits like “Footloose” and “Danger Zone”. Guests celebrated twenty years of the advances made in the fight against prostate cancer by PCF. In his audience address, Founder and Chairman Michael Milken said the organization had raised $50.6 million in 2013, a new high-water mark for the organization. Bonnie Pfeifer Evans, trustee of the Charles Evans Foundation which partners with PCF, gave a moving speech in memory of her husband Charles.
PCF’s President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan W. Simons, MD thanked the audience for their support, saying “investment in ideas can change everything”. He said the day in which the disease could be a considered a chronic but manageable condition, instead of a life sentence, is becoming “closer than ever”. Guests viewed an audiovisual which remembered many inspiring individuals who had lost a battle with cancer, including Wade Thompson, Lou Rawls, Leslie Misrock and Jerry Orbach.
During the auction, five guests – Seth Bernstein, John Paulson, David H. Koch, Steve Schwarzman and Anonymous – donated $75,000 for three years, a total of $225,000, in sponsorship of the PCF’s young researchers program. Others contributed $25,000 to which David H. Koch generously added $150,000. A total of $1.5 million was raised at the Gala in support of cancer research, making up part of the $2.5 million in total raised over the entire weekend.
The event was hosted by: Michael and Lori Milken, David and Sybil Yurman, David and Julia Koch, Glenn and Jennifer Myles, Miles Nadal (MDC Partners), Richard and Karen LeFrak, Don and Catie Marron, Danny and Sheila Rosenblum, and Mort Zuckerman.
