Gala Yields $8.2 Million for Hillman Cancer Center

PITTSBURGH, May 4 – Last night at the annual gala benefiting the Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh's most influential community leaders, top Broadway performers and celebrities celebrated with more than 1,000 friends and supporters, raising $8.2 million in sponsorships and contributions for patient care and cancer research. This amount included $2 million from the Arnold D. Palmer Charitable Trust for a new initiative in cancer prevention; $1 million from Tom and Sandra Usher to support melanoma research; $1 million from the Hillman Foundations to fund innovative cancer research; and $1 million in an unrestricted grant from the PNC Financial Services Group.

Taken together, the funds made the annual gala, Seasons of Hope - A Future Without Cancer, the largest and most successful ever for the Hillman Cancer Center.

The event was hosted by honorary celebrity chair, Arnold Palmer, and honorary chairs Elsie and Henry Hillman, and featured Broadway performer Liza Minnelli. Highlights of the evening included aerial acrobatic artists and entertainment that mirrored the four seasons, signifying hope for cancer patients now and in the future.

Other long-time contributors to the Hillman Cancer Center who joined University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) President Jeffrey Romoff in supporting the event were University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Council Chairman Sy Holzer of PNC Financial Services Group; and general chairs of the event, Sharon and Jim Rohr and Sandra and Tom Usher. Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers acted as the Pittsburgh-Ireland Ambassador for the event, leading the effort to highlight UPMC Cancer Centers' first international cancer facility under construction in Ireland. Corporations offering support included Wheeler Brothers, Inc., Highmark Corporation and PNC Financial Services Group. Presenting sponsors were PNC and UPMC. The event was held at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on Pittsburgh's South Side.

World-renowned for innovative approaches to cancer prevention, detection and diagnosis, the Hillman Cancer Center is the flagship facility for both the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the UPMC Cancer Centers Ð a network of 43 office-based medical oncology practices and regional cancer centers that provide the highest standard of care for patients throughout western Pennsylvania.

# # #

UPMC News Bureau