AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY HONORS CHEF MING TSAI AT CALIFORNIA SPIRIT 33 GOURMET GARDEN PARTY, WITH HOST CHEF JAVIER PLASCENCIA

The American Cancer Society’s California Spirit 33 gourmet garden party honored Chef Ming Tsai with the 2018 Impact Award for his inspiring work in the fight against cancer through his leadership in the national non-profit Family Reach on Sunday, July 15 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. The event was hosted by Chef Javier Plascencia, celebrated chef, author, TV personality noted for his signature interpretation of the cuisine of Baja California. Chef Jason Fullilove, owner of Barbara Jean LA presided as Culinary Chair for the event.
Honorary chairs Sherry Lansing (Paramount Pictures, STOP CANCER, Stand Up 2 Cancer) and Phil Rosenthal (15-time Emmy Award-winning “Everyone Loves Raymond,” “Spanglish,” “I’ll have What Phil’s Having” and second season of “Somebody Feel Phil” on Netflix) welcomed the crowd and Andrew Firestone (Principal at StonePark Capital) presided over the live auction. The event was attended by Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill, Chicago P.D.), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue), Samantha Harris (Entertainment Tonight, Dancing with the Stars, Camila Banus (Days of Our Lives), among others.
The event featured a performance by Band From TV, a powerhouse of well-known and acclaimed actors including Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, Jack Coleman, and Scott Grimes. Guests enjoyed offerings from LA’s top restaurants including 71 Above, Barbara Jean LA, The Bel-Air, BOA, Fig & Olive, Frida Mexican Cuisine, Guerilla Tacos, Kato, Life Energy Food, Maple Block Meat Co, McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, Panini Kabob Grill, Prawn Coastal, Takami Sushi & Robata, Sweet Lady Jane, The Wallace, Wolfgang Puck Catering, and Wood & Vine. Libations were poured by Ammunition Wine, Codigo 1530 Tequila, Danone Waters of America, Drake’s Organic Vodka & Rum, Golden Road Brewing, Hilltop Coffee, Lillet, Kikori Whiskey, Moraga Bel Air, Malibu Vineyards, and The Ojai Vineyard. 
Corporate and individual sponsors include, at the Master Chef level ($25,000)—Centric Capital Advisors, Ellie Kanner and David Zuckerman. Chef de Cuisine sponsors ($10,000) include Cedars Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Sam and Peggy Grossman, Sherry Lansing, New York Film Academy Foundation, and Phil & Monica Rosenthal.  Supporters at the Sous Chef level ($5,000) are Amalfi Estates, Heyler Realty, Lynn Both & Kent Kresa, SoCalGas, and Torrance Memorial Medical Center.
Media sponsors included KTLA-TV, Variety, Angeleno, The Hollywood Reporter, and KJAZZ Radio. California Spirit raised $________  for the Society’s groundbreaking research, free patient and caregiver services, and early detection and prevention education programs.

CONCERN FOUNDATION’S 44TH ANNUAL BLOCK PARTY RAISES $1.8 MILLION FOR CANCER RESEARCH

On Saturday, July 14th 2018, Concern Foundation for cancer research successfully produced its 44th Annual Block Party on the backlot of Paramount Studios in Hollywood on the foundation’s 50th anniversary. Themed this year as Cancer Crusaders, the highly anticipated and sold-out event hosted approximately 4,000 guests, successfully raising $1.8 million for cancer research through ticket sales, donations and bids on auction items.
All guests had a chance to experience over 70 restaurants, caters, and beverage vendors including Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Fogo de Chao, Dulan’s Soul Food, Button Mash, Fresh Brother’s Pizza and Pink’s Famous Hot Dogs. The night was filled with interactive entertainment such as casino-style gaming, a celebrity bar hosting actors Lili Bourdán (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE NUN), Gabe Jarret (REAL GENIUS) and Chad Johnson, the original TV Batmobile, and live and iconic Super Hero “streetmosphere”. For the 14th year in a row, The Best of LA® on Los Angeles Magazine’s street featured lounges, photo booths, food stations, beauty stations and gift bags sponsored by Infiniti.
As a focal point for the evening’s festivities, the live auction lead by lifestyle expert and entertainment reporter, Mar Yvette, presented guests with the option to bid on prizes including VIP tickets to a taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, VIP tickets to the 2018 American Music Awards, a six-night vacation in Maui, and Dodger Dugout seats. Following the auction, John Ferdenzi of Town and Country Event Rentals was honored with the Spirit of Concern award. Recognized for his dedication and commitment to Concern Foundation, John Ferdenzi has been a valued member of the extended Concern family for more than two and a half decades. He has given his time and creative talents to assist at various Concern Block Parties and annual holiday events.
 This year, in connection to the theme, the foundation was happy to honor Dr. Jay & Kris Calvert and family as this year's "Cancer Crusaders" for their participation in helping to conquer cancer through research. Honored on stage alongside his family, Dr. Jay & Kris Calvert openly shared their personal experience with cancer. The Calvert's 10 year old son Ace was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age 4 and while today he has beaten his cancer, ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) can always return and he is never truly cured.  This is a major reason he and his family feels so strongly about raising money to help find a permanent cure.  Jay himself was a young scientist who could not get funding early in his career as a molecular biologist and he personally knows how important our mission to supporting young investigators is to jump start researcher's careers. Dr. Jay Calvert has been consecutively named one of Los Angeles Magazine's "Super Doctors" in 2014, 2015, and 2016.  He has appeared on multiple hit television programs including CBS's "The Doctors" and OWN's "Dr. Phil". 
Concern Foundation is proud to have these members of the community serve as this year's honorees. Their personal connection to the fight against cancer and philanthropic actions alongside the non-profit organization is sure to help make this year's Block Party a success.
 Concluding the event, Derek Alpert stated, “Having the honor to be on stage to welcome and see nearly 4,000 of the true super heroes all gathered together helping us raise funds to conquer cancer is a very emotional thing for me.  It’s such a blessing to be able to help orchestrate this event each year and to bring together 4 generations of donors, 5 decades of cancer researchers that Concern has funded all surrounded by a tremendous outpouring of love and support by our local business community that donate their time and talents so that we can give as much money as possible to support cancer research.”