Danny Jadresko, Woodsmere Holdings president; Sandy Jadresko, Woodsmere Holdings comptroller; and Douglas Nelson, BC Cancer Foundation. The Jadreskos kicked off the live auction with a donation of $150,000.
Lorne Campbell, announcing a $100,000 gift to the BC Cancer Foundation on behalf of his mother, philanthropist Jo Campbell.
Jennifer Harper Uncao, BC Cancer Foundation senior director special events; and Douglas Nelson, BC Cancer Foundation president and CEO.
Astrid Braunschmidt, CTV News Vancouver Island weather host and Jingle Mingle emcee.
BC Cancer Foundation receives five gifts of $100,000 or more to support immunotherapy research
The BC Cancer Foundation’s eighth annual Jingle Mingle cocktail party, held December 4 at the Fairmont Empress Hotel and presented by Proline Property Management, raised $905,000 to directly advance immunotherapy research toward the clinical trial phase at the BC Cancer Agency’s Trev & Joyce Deeley Research Centre.
More than $600,000 was donated in the live auction, including $150,000 from Danny and Sandy Jadresko of Woodsmere Holdings Corp. and $100,000 each from philanthropist Jo Campbell and David Black, president and CEO of Black Press. Two additional gifts of $100,000 each and one of $50,000 were made by donors who prefer not to be named.
Jingle Mingle funds will directly support the construction of a “clean room” or clinical-grade T cell production suite, where scientists will culture patients’ T cells in a safe and sterile environment for clinical trials. At the Deeley Research Centre, cancer research has advanced from a concept to compelling scientific proof that enhancing the body’s natural immune response to cancer through adoptive T cell therapy can have life-saving effects.
In the past eight years, the BC Cancer Foundation’s Jingle Mingle has raised more than $3 million for an immunotherapy clinical trials program at the BC Cancer Agency Vancouver Island Centre.
Photos: Kirk Klein, Jesse Hlady Photography
