Fund-Raising, Family Style

No need to hire a sitter. The accent was on family at the Luau for Life benefit for the Hoag Cancer Center.

Not only were children invited to join their parents at the second annual fund-raiser at the Hyatt Newporter Inn, they participated in each phase of the event--from the island punch they sipped during the cocktail reception to the backpacks, T-shirts and wallets they bid upon during the silent auction. Not to mention the tykes who braved the 300-strong crowd to boogie to the Swingin’ Tikis band.

“I wanted to create an event that would include my children,” benefit chairwoman Sandy Weiner said. “When I was invited to help organize a benefit for the cancer center, I’d just come off of two years of steady volunteering and I didn’t want to exclude my children from my life anymore.”

It was Orange County surfer Mike Rogers who invited Weiner to join him in his effort to raise funds for the Hoag Cancer Center.

After Rogers lost his father-in-law to cancer in 1995, he began to ask people to sponsor him in the annual Catalina Classic, a 32-mile paddleboard race from Catalina Island to Manhattan Beach. Proceeds of more than $200,000 from the sponsorships have been donated to the cancer center for research.

When Rogers met Weiner while surfing in Newport Beach two years ago, he invited her to organize an event that would also benefit the cancer center.

“Mike wanted to do more fund-raising for Hoag and I realized this wasn’t just a chance meeting,” Weiner said. “So, I called a couple of friends, we brainstormed, and came up with the luau.”

The funds raised at these events “are greatly appreciated,” said oncologist Robert O. Dillman, medical director of the Hoag Cancer Center. Proceeds of about $20,000 from the $150-per-family luau will go toward research conducted at the center’s Cell Biology Lab.

“The lab is involved in three major areas of cancer research,” Dillman said. “There is the area where we make specific vaccines for patients’ cancers. And the area where we isolate immune cells than can be used in investigational cancer treatment. And finally, there is the area that processes the stem cells used in programs that deal with high-dose chemotherapy.”

Organizing and implementing such treatments--which are the result of extensive cancer research--”is very expensive,” Dillman said. “But it is the only way some patients can have access to certain types of investigative therapies. Because of these therapies, there are hundreds of patients who are alive today who probably would not have been here.”

Saluting a Volunteer

Philanthropist Renee Segerstrom of Newport Beach, who died June 7, was honored posthumously with the 2000 Chairman’s Cup by the board of directors of the Orange County Performing Arts last week during an annual meeting.

Segerstrom, wife of center founding chairman Henry Segerstrom, was recognized for her distinguished volunteer service to the center. She was a founder of the Angels of the Arts support group and co-chaired with her husband the center’s yearlong 10th anniversary gala celebration in 1996.

She was also chairwoman of the Art Committee for the center board and was a member of the center’s Building Committee for the proposed Concert Hall at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

“Renee will be long remembered for her steadfast dedication to the center,” center chairman Roger Kirwan said. “Her love for the arts and her commitment to helping them flourish in Orange County took many forms . . . We will miss her grace and style, but we are fortunate that she has left us so many wonderful ways to remember her.”

Seeds of Growth

The Self-Employment of the Enterprising Disabled (SEED) Institute of Irvine recognized outstanding members of the community who have made contributions to the disabled at a recent award ceremony held at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Recognized at the annual dinner were: Dr. Sharon Kawai, medical director of rehabilitation services at St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fullerton; Marla Dickerson, a staff writer for The Times; Jan Norman, business columnist for the Orange County Register; and stage actress Nancy Becker Kennedy.

“These pioneers were foresighted in their support of SEED’s mission” to help the disabled find gainful employment, said Andy Leaf, president of the nonprofit organization’s board of directors. “With their support, we hope to lower the 70% unemployment rate found in this group.”

For information about the institute: (949) 752-8834.

On Their Toes

Celebrating its 10th annual Pacifica Choreographic Project to be held Saturday at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Ballet Pacifica of Irvine held a reception for its choreographers and dancers on July 16 at the home of Frank Lynch in Corona del Mar. Honored at the event for the professionalism and creative energy they have brought to the ballet company were Rick McCullough, assistant professor of ballet at the University of North Carolina; Stephen Mills, artistic director of Ballet Austin in Texas; Colin Connor, director of the Salvage Co. in New York; and Paul Vasterling, artistic director of Nashville Ballet in Tennessee. For tickets to the Ballet Pacifica Production: (949) 851-9930.

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Ann Conway can be reached at (714) 966-5952 or by e-mail at ann.conway@latimes.com.