BC Business
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.
Alyssa Grace, BC Cancer Foundation senior director development.
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.
Jingle Mingle silent auction.
Pacific Dance Centre ballerinas with Jingle Mingle mystery boxes.
Hung Fut Kung-Fu dragon dancers.
Hung Fut Kung-Fu musicians.
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