Philanthropy

Inspiration gala raises $4.2 million for BC Cancer Foundation

By Felicity Stone /

2015 Inspiration Gala committee members
Inspiration Gala committee members



Inspiration Gala committee members



Sarah Gowland, Encana senior government relations advisor; and David Gowland, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers manager of Alberta operations
Inspiration Gala committee members



(Back row) Adam Conconi, UBC student; Alex Conconi, Lendesk founder and president; Bob Conconi, Robert L. Conconi Foundation director; Sanja Simic, Robert L. Conconi Foundation executive director; Robyn Roscoe, BC Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Centre dire
Inspiration Gala committee members



Meghan Lammam, Hani Lammam, Cressey executive VP; Jacqueline Taggart; Julian Kendall, Cressey development manager
Inspiration Gala committee members



Dr. Aly Karsan and Dr. Brad Nelson, BC Cancer Agency researchers
Inspiration Gala committee members



Susan Knott, Royal British Columbia Museum chair; Jane Hungerford; Lyall Knott, Clark Wilson LLP senior partner
Inspiration Gala committee members



Jasper Lament, Nature Trust of BC CEO; Michelle Armstrong, Lululemon Athletica VP GMM North America; Michael Armstrong, Janie Hungerford, Hungerford Interior Design principal; and Paul Silk, Hungerford Properties director of investor relations
Inspiration Gala committee members



Tamara Taggart, 2015 Inspiration Gala chair; Dr. Malcolm Moore, BC Cancer Agency president; and George Hungerford, Hungerford Properties partner
Inspiration Gala committee members



Randy Bartsch, Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service Corp. CEO and BC Cancer Foundation director; Carol Smallwood; Randy Smallwood, Silver Wheaton president & CEO and BC Cancer Foundation director
Inspiration Gala committee members



Greg Fleck, Fraser Institute director; Karen Fleck, Serviceworks president; Kate Connell, Korn Ferry senior associate; John Jennings, Korn Ferry senior client partner and former BC Cancer Foundation board chair
Inspiration Gala committee members



Amy Cox, Swim Recruiting account executive; Celeste Burgoyne, Lululemon Athletica senior VP The Americas; Carolyn Atkinson, Jas Uppal
Inspiration Gala committee members


Funds will support the launch of immunotherapy clinical trials at the BC Cancer Agency

By the end of the 2015 Inspiration gala October 22 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, a total of $4.2 million had been raised for immunotherapy trials at the BC Cancer Agency. BC Cancer Foundation had previously raised $2.3 million: $1.3 million from public donations in a campaign leading up to the gala plus $1 million from the the Robert L. Conconi Foundation. The gala itself raised $1.9 million, including an additional $1 million from the Conconi family. 

The funds will support the Conconi Family Immunotherapy Lab at the BC Cancer Agency’s Deeley Research Centre in Victoria to develop customized, patient-specific T cell therapies for clinical trials. More than 26,000 British Columbians will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and thousands of those individuals will be facing advanced or recurrent disease for which immunotherapy provides a future new treatment option.