American Cancer Society to Honor Health Professions Division Chancellor

Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D., Chancellor of Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Health Professions Division.

The American Cancer Society’s Broward Unit held a Kick-off Party on Feb. 23 to announce its 8th Annual Gala—the 2012 Birthday Ball.  More than 100 people attended the event, which was held at Ron Bergeron’s Green Glades Ranch in Weston and underwritten by AutoNation.  Attendees were invited to join more than 400 of Broward’s social, philanthropic, professional, business, and community leaders at the Gala as they come together to raise money for the American Cancer Society and its Reaching Out to Cancer Kids (R.O.C.K.) Programs.  The Gala will be held on Saturday, May 12 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Gulfstream Park’s Sport of Kings Theater.

Recognized at the Kick-off Party were the May 12 Gala Honorees Fred Lippman, R.Ph., Ed.D., Chancellor of Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Health Professions Division; Alligator Ron Bergeron, President/CEO Bergeron Land Development Inc.; and  Survivor of the Year Ross Sabath, Accounting Information Systems Manager at Ultimate Software.

From left to right: Event chair for the 2012 Birthday Ball Irv Rosenbaum DPA, Ed.D., MPA, Nova Southeastern University Health Professions Division Provost and Executive Dean for Administration is seen here with Ali Waldman, Sponsorship Chair Shelly Spivack, and Howard C. Forman, Clerk of Courts of Broward County.

Guests at the May 12 Birthday Ball will enjoy a night of dining, dancing, and the opportunity to bid on a show case of hundreds of items themed “Birthday Wishes Can Come True”.  These items include the use of a catered suite at the new Miami Marlins Stadium, a ride on the Goodyear Blimp, a weekend of fishing in the Florida Keys, an aerial tour of the east coast of Florida, designer handbags, jewelry, dancing, art, and scuba lessons. Among the programs funded by the Gala is R.O.C.K.  It is made up of three programs for children with cancer and those who survived childhood cancers:  R.O.C.K. Scholarship Program, R.O.C.K. Family Weekend, and R.O.C.K. Camp.

Established in 1976, R.O.C.K. Camp is the first camp for children with cancer in the U.S.  Held at Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, Fla., it provides kids ages 7 to 16 who are being treated for cancer or who have survived the disease the opportunity to enjoy summer camp without having to feel different from other children.  R.O.C.K. Camp features traditional summer camp activities such as swimming, music, arts and crafts, fishing, horseback riding and camp fires.  “It is free to the kids due to the generosity of those who attend our Annual Gala,” explained Gala Chair Irv Rosenbaum DPA, Ed.D., MPA, NSU Health Professions Division Provost and Executive Dean for Administration.  “Thanks to those who supported last year’s event, 19 kids from Broward County were able to attend camp, 34 teens received scholarships, and 12 families attended R.O.C.K. Family Weekend”.

In addition to funding R.O.C.K. Programs, money raised at the Gala also helps to provide services and programs for cancer patients and survivors in Broward County.  These include rides to cancer treatment, support groups, free wigs and prosthesis, and other services.

As the “Official Sponsor of Birthdays,” the American Cancer Society saves lives and creates a world with less cancer by helping people stay well, get well, finding cures, and fighting back.  The American Cancer Society donates more money to cancer research than any other private, not-for-profit, non-government funder of cancer research in the U.S.  It has funded 46 Nobel Prize winners.

For more information about the event, contact the American Cancer Society’s Broward Unit at (954)200-7516.