The Crowd: Circle 1000 raises funds, hope for cancer fight
In the world of nonprofit gatherings, inspiration is often key to the fundraising tally.
Maybe even more significant is the inspiration that binds people, not just for the cause, but as community members whose lives are connected.
Circle 1000, a committee dedicated to supporting the Hoag Family Cancer Institute, is one such organization with inspiration as its middle name.
For the past 28 years in Newport-Mesa, the committee has made remarkable strides in the cancer fight, affecting countless lives in the Orange County region through the work of the doctors, nurses, technicians and administration at Hoag Hospital.
Millions of dollars have been raised and funneled into research, patient care and services, advocacy and support of all variety.
Cancer survivors tell the story best. Annually, at each of the past 28 Circle 1000 brunch gatherings in Newport Beach, including the most recent confab held at the Island Hotel, the morning begins with an invocation followed by a call for all cancer survivors to stand.
The ovation begins with those most recently diagnosed as cancer free and continues with the call for people who have been in remission for five, 10, 20 and 25 years or more. It is a strong testimonial to the importance of the day, the cause and the community connection.
The Circle 1000 Founders Brunch has always focused on a legendary guest speaker. The 2015 gathering welcomed Father Gregory Boyle, author, humanitarian and founder of Homeboy Industries at Delores Mission in East Los Angeles. It is the largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program in the nation.
Boyle describes his long pursuit of changing lives in his book “Tattoos of the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.” Honored as one of the White House Champions of Change, Boyle drove home his point at the recent gathering with humor, sharing his view on the importance of adult guidance and unconditional love in preventing youths from straying into the gang lifestyle.
Quoting Mother Theresa, Boyle said, “The problem in the world today is that we forget we belong to each other.”
Boyle, who is fighting leukemia, shared his condition at Homeboy. One of the boys asked, “Is your cancer in intermission?”
Boyle replied, “Yes, it stepped out into the lobby.”
Another youth named Robert inquired, “What’s up with this cancer?”
Boyle answered, “The leukemia has my white blood count too high.”
To which Robert agreed, “Of course it’s high.”
Boyle had the crowd howling with his anecdotes, especially the boys’ advice for handling his Circle 1000 address.
“You’ve got to pepper your talk with lots of self-defecating humor,” one boy insisted.
Boyle replied, “No sh*t.”
The morning at the Island Hotel with Boyle raised $775,000 for the Hoag cancer foundation. The success was due in part to the brunch dedication in memory of one of Newport’s truly great ladies, Arden Flamson, a major benefactor of Circle 1000 over many years.
The massive undertaking, including a formidable community outreach, was in the capable and stylish hands of chair Bethany Knapp, supported by a committee including Heather Gaughan, Sheryl Anderson, Frances Applegate and Jill Aschieris.
Additional committee members Lin Auer, Kerry Barth, Vicki Booth, Mary V. Buckingham, Karen Linden, Ginny Ueberroth and Gini Robins, among others, made a difference for Circle 1000.
Donors in the crowd were Robert and Sheryl Anderson, Robert and Terry Callahan, Alex and Cherry Dickinson, Stephanie Grody, Trish and John O’Donnell, David and Patsy Schweitzer, Richard and Dee Dick, Ellyne Warsaw and Betty Sisemore.
Also front and center for Circle 1000 were Jim and Pam Muzzy, Kent and Carol Wilken, Heather Cook, Sandy Fainbarg, Jerry and Maralou Harrington, Sam and Susan Anderson and the uber-dedicated Sandy Sewell.
THE CROWD runs Fridays. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.
