7th Annual Blue Hope Bash A Charitable Celebration of Life

Every event put on by the Colon Cancer Alliance is poignant, but this year’s 7th annual Blue Hope Bash was also a tear jerker.

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Held at the Mellon Auditorium, this premiere fundraising gala of the non-profit organization supports its mission to end colon cancer within our lifetime.

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This year’s sold out event brought together over 600 attendees and raised a record-breaking $1.5 million to support the mission and strategic plan: to invest $10 million in research, save 100,000 lives through increased screening, and double the number of patients and families the Colon Cancer Alliance serves.

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This year’s theme, “In This Together,” featured NBC’s Weekend ‘Today Show” Co-Anchor Craig Melvin sharing his own connection with the disease as his brother Lawrence, also in attendance at the Bash, was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer at age 39.

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The evening also announced the launch of the Michelle Benaim Memorial Fund. Michelle and her husband Avi Benaim  served as Co-Chairs of the Blue Hope Bash this year. Diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in 2015 at age 47, Michelle unfortunately passed away on September 30th at the age of 49. The Michelle Benaim Memorial Fund will be used to increase screening for the under-50 population and provide assistance to underserved populations who are impacted by colorectal cancer.

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Other evening highlights included awarding the Erica & Michael Paul Memorial Award to Lyn Ferriero, as well as drawing Stu (and Susan) Lisabeth of New York as winners of a custom 2018 Porsche Boxster. 

*Images credit Daniel McGarrity