Mary Bird Perkins and Cancer Services Debut Joint Event to Transform Cancer Care

Funds raised from 20s-themed party to help area cancer patients, caregivers

(Baton Rouge, La.) Channel your inner dapper or dame this September for roaring festivities – all while helping individuals and families in the community impacted by cancer. Presented by Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and Cancer Services, The Gala Goes Gatsby is the organizations’ first combined annual fundraiser, set for Thursday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Hosted at L’Auberge Casino & Hotel Baton Rouge, the event will be the premier party to kick off the fall season, featuring delectable cuisine from Baton Rouge’s favorite eateries, tasty libations, silent and live auctions, entertainment straight out of the jazz age from Ned Fasullo & The Fabulous Big Band Orchestra, plus more. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center joined forces with Cancer Services earlier this year to serve more people and most efficiently put donor dollars to work in helping anyone in the area touched by cancer. Ethan Bush, vice president and chief development officer at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, and Anthony O’Connor, former Cancer Services board president and current Mary Bird Perkins board member, said they are looking forward to advancing the mission of both organizations, which are focused exclusively on cancer. “The Gala represents incredible collaboration while serving the needs of nearly 8,000 cancer patients and families here in our community,” said Bush. “One-hundred percent of funds raised from this one event will enable both organizations to further extend their mission and serve every cancer patient in a much larger and more impactful way.” Event tickets are $125, and a limited number of tickets for the exclusive “see and be seen” VIP Speakeasy Experience before and during The Gala are $75. The exclusive VIP Speakeasy, presented by GMFS Mortgage in the elite Club 38 at L’Auberge, features a unique whiskey tasting experience sponsored by Calandro’s Supermarket along with 1920s cocktails from local cocktail bars. To enter both the Gala and the VIP Speakeasy, tickets to each event are required. All proceeds will help transform cancer care by advancing patient assistance, survivorship, innovation and teamwork and patient assistance through the Cancer Center and Cancer Services. O’Connor said this streamlining of effort demonstrates the type of collaboration the Cancer Services board envisioned when Cancer Services approached Mary Bird Perkins about a partnership. “The Cancer Services board wanted to unite the services in the cancer community while stretching donor dollars as far as possible,” said O’Connor. “This event is a prime example of how this partnership is working, and how longtime supporters of both organizations can continue to ensure that we meet all the growing needs of local cancer patients and their families.” Major Gala Goes Gatsby event partners include: L’Auberge Casino & Hotel, The Great Gatsby Sponsor; GMFS Mortgage, Louisiana Lottery and Merrill Lynch, Roaring 20s Sponsors; Audi Baton Rouge and Performance Contractors, The Bee’s Knees Sponsors; and Group Industries and Turner Industries, Flapper Sponsors. The official Gala Goes Gatsby print media partners, The Hot of the Press Sponsors, are 225 Magazine, InRegister and Baton Rouge Business Report. Additional sponsorships are available for companies wanting to positively impact those with cancer in the community. For more information about the event, sponsorships or purchasing tickets, please visit thegalagoes.org or contact our events team at events@marybird.com.   About Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center As a premier destination for cancer care, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center offers the most advance technology and services provided by a dedicated team of nationally-recognized oncology experts. MBP-OLOL provides best-practice, comprehensive care at every stage of the cancer journey, including disease site-specific multidisciplinary care teams, a robust clinical research program, extensive supportive care services and is the first facility in the Gulf South to offer  the revolutionary Leksell Gamma Knife®Icon™. The American College of Surgeons has named MBP-OLOL a recipient of its prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award for three consecutive survey cycles. As a nonprofit organization, donor generosity is essential to sustaining the mission of improving survivorship and lessening the burden of cancer for so many throughout Southeast Louisiana and beyond. For more information on MBP-OLOL, and how you can become involved, please visit marybirdlake.org. About Cancer Services Since 1959, Cancer Services has been improving life for those living with cancer by providing critical support to help families and individuals of all ages through the difficulties presented by a cancer diagnosis. Our goal is to provide therapeutic, free-of-charge support through counseling, support groups, exercise programs, adult and children’s programming as well as assistance in the form of nutritional supplements, emergency grants, wigs, medical equipment loans and more. In these ways and many more, we strive to serve the emotional, financial and physical needs of individuals and families living with, through and beyond cancer.