By Gary Francoeur
McGill sure knows how to throw a party – especially when it is to draw awareness and support for a worthwhile cause.
Over 670 leaders from the Montreal community came together on June 10 for the University’s second Goodman Cancer Research Gala, a glittering evening of entertainment that raised $1.15-million in support of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre (GCRC).
The funds raised at the black-tie event will be used to support the GCRC’s efforts to unravel the mysteries of cancer, a disease that will affect an estimated 186,000 Canadians in 2012 alone, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. The proceeds will be invested to launch new research projects, recruit leading scientists, purchase specialized equipment and core facilities, and create studentships and fellowships to help train the next generation of experts.
“The Gala was a great party and an opportunity to celebrate the exciting work going on at the Centre,” says Rosalind Goodman, BA’63, LLD’11, who served as the Gala’s honorary co-chair. “Here at McGill we have some of the best brains in Canada working to find a cure for cancer and this evening was really in honour of them.”
A cancer survivor herself, Goodman and her husband, Morris Goodman, LLD’11, made a transformative gift in 2008 to the McGill Cancer Centre, which was renamed the Goodman Cancer Research Centre in acknowledgement and appreciation. The first Goodman Cancer Research Gala was held in June 2010 and raised more than $2.5 million to reenergize cancer research at the University.
Dr. David Eidelman, MDCM’79, McGill’s Vice-Principal of Health Affairs and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, is both grateful and proud of the innovative work that takes place at the GCRC.
“With the fantastic support of Rosalind and Morris Goodman and all our partners in both the public and private sectors, and the passionate leadership of Michel Tremblay over the last decade, we are making important strides toward improving cancer outcomes,” he says.