Support Groups

Hands-on involvement in one of Cedars-Sinai's many support groups can be very rewarding. With more than 20 support groups sponsoring a variety of fundraising events and activities, there's sure to be one that will give you that special sense of belonging to Cedars-Sinai family.

Please click on any of the following support group listings or see the descriptions below for more information.

Brain Trust

The Brain Trust is dedicated to supporting the work conducted at the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr Brain Tumor Center. The funds raised by the Brain Trust have helped the center put together an exceptional team of experts led by Keith L. Black, M.D. A unique strength of the Brain Tumor Center is its ability to translate research findings from the Medical Center's own laboratory into clinical practice, thereby giving patients immediate access to the latest treatment alternatives for brain tumors, that elsewhere might be considered inoperable.

To learn more or to make a donation, visit the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr Brain Tumor Center.

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Fashion Industries Guild

Fashion Industries Guild (FIG) was founded by Barney and Harvey Morse in 1956. Its members are individuals prominent in all facets of the fashion industry.

Since its founding, FIG has raised more than $13 million to help build the Seventh Floor South Patient Tower, Barney Morse Rehabilitation Center, Harvey S. Morse Conference Center and the Florence and "Duke" Becker Building.

FIG also sponsored the Arrhythmia Electro-physiology Research Program, purchased two two-dimensional echocardiograph machines and helped fund patient care, medical research and education at the Medical Center. FIG currently supports the Ruth Bregman Fashion Industries Guild Special Children's Program for clinical research of children with AIDS, and the Ruth Bregman pediatric AIDS Outpatient Clinic at Cedars-Sinai for patients and their families.

The GUESS?/Fashion Industries Chair in Community Child Health Endowment, dedicated in 1998, will enable the Medical Center to expand comprehensive health services for high-risk children.

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Good Beginnings

Good Beginnings is Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's support group for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The organization was founded in 1979 by a group of concerned parents who had been in the unit and saw a need for a support group to help premature babies and their families in a time of crisis. Over 26 years later, still comprised of volunteers -most of whom are former NICU parents - Good Beginnings continues to provide critical educational, emotional and financial support to families in the unit.

Premature delivery, birth defects, infections and serious illness can rapidly turn the dream of parenthood into a nightmare. But Good Beginnings is committed to offering an array of outreach services and programs to benefit both families and the NICU. The group facilitates a variety of weekly forums for parent-to-parent support and infant care education for families being discharged with special-needs infants. The organization also offers extensive bereavement support to families experiencing a loss, and subsidizes continued education opportunities to the NICU staff, as well as funding for Neonatal medical research.

In 2005, Good Beginnings launched its interactive website which allows parents locally and beyond to access critical resource materials from the privacy of their homes. A comprehensive virtual library, baby web pages, and hosted on line events are upcoming this winter. In addition to organizing our annual Reunion event, which reunites hundreds of NICU graduate families, the organization also hosts an annual Forever In our Hearts Memorial event to honor the memory of babies that have passed in the NICU. Our newly renovated, state of the art, Good Beginnings Parent Resource Library opened in 2005. Fully stocked with extensive resource materials, new computers, phone access, a kitchenette, locked storage and a resting area, it provides a little respite for families in the unit. At Good Beginnings, we are dedicated to ensuring that a good beginning is the only beginning.

To learn more, visit the Good Beginnings website.

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The Heart Foundation

The Heart Foundation was founded in memory of Steven Cohen, who, in 1995, suffered a massive heart attack and died at age 35. The Executive Board consists of a group of young professionals who want to lend support in the ongoing research of early heart disease.

Proceeds from the Family Fun Faire and Golf Tournament support research being conducted at CSMC into the detection and prevention of early heart disease in young adults.

Since The Heart Foundation's inaugural event, a black tie gala held in 1997, they have raised in excess of $525,000. To learn more, visit The Heart Foundation's website.

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Helping Hand of Los Angeles

The Helping Hand of Los Angeles, Inc, formed in 1929, supports the Cedars-Sinai Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The group helped to establish the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Program and was the first organization at Cedars-Sinai to fund an Endowed Chair at the Medical Center. The Helping Hand of Los Angeles funded their first chair, The Helping Hand Miriam Jacobs Chair in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, in 1983. The group has since endowed a second chair: The Helping Hand of Los Angeles Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The Helping Hand Gift Shop, located on the Plaza Level at Cedars-Sinai, is one of the largest and finest of its type in the country. Funds raised from shop sales, membership dues, tributes, baby photos and an annual Mother's Day Luncheon all go directly to support Helping Hand projects.

The group has approximately 1,800 members, including 165 volunteers who work in the gift shop. Helping Hand has raised more than $19 million for Cedars-Sinai and currently contributes over one-half million dollars annually.

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The Merchant of Tennis/Monty Hall/Cedars-Sinai Tennis Tournament

The Diabetes Center Associates sponsor the annual Merchant of Tennis/Monty Hall/Cedars-Sinai Diabetes Tennis Tournament.

The three-day event, now entering its 28th year, begins with a party Friday evening, followed by tennis matches on Saturday. It concludes on Sunday with tennis finals and celebrity matches held at the Playboy Mansion.

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Pediatric IBD Center

Under the direction of Marla Dubinsky, MD, The Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cedars-Sinai is committed to providing a full array of IBD healthcare services for children and young adults suffering from Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and other intestinal disorders.

Through it's sponsorship of cutting-edge research studies, as well as a widely celebrated annual "Pamper Me Pink" fundraiser, the Center is committed to generating public support and discovering a cure for this debilitating disease.

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The PROS Support Group for the Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

The PROS support group is committed to winning the battle against prostate cancer by helping to raise public awareness through their fundraising efforts. They have raised funds to support research and state-of-the-art care for patients with prostate cancer.

The PROS was founded in 2001 by the Warschaw family in memory of Louis Warschaw. The next Panache Gala will be held on March 17, 2007, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Since the founding of the group, they have raised approximately $8 million.

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Spirit of the Brandman Breast Center, Benefitting the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center, a Project of the Women's Guild at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Spirit of the Saul & Joyce Brandman Breast Center, a Project of the Women's Guild, is driven to provide the most innovative and compassionate treatment options for women faced with breast related disease. Services include genetic risk assessment, cancer screening, and clinical trials.

Designed in part by breast cancer survivors, the Center the uses a multidisciplinary approach and a comprehensive patient care model to promote a soothing care environment, successful treatment, and improved overall health.

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The Thalians

The Thalians was established in 1955 by a group of "show-biz" people who wanted to shed their Hollywood "fast lane" images and more accurately project themselves as dedicated performers and contributors to the community. This group is the fund-raising arm for the Thalians Mental Health Center, which was the first building to be erected on the CSMC campus. The group has approximately 150 members and has raised more than $25 million.

Each year's Thalians Ball is a media event attended by celebrities and featuring a star-studded show and auction. Other events and donations from the Presidents Club members also provide funding.

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Tom Collier Memorial Regatta

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center became a beneficiary of the Tom Collier Memorial Regatta in 1996. The "Regatta for Hope," presented by King Harbor Yacht Club in Redondo Beach, has raised nearly $200,000 since its inception. In 2003, the regatta volunteers met their goal of endowing The King Harbor Yacht Club Tom Collier Memorial Cancer Lab at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Funds raised by the annual event are dedicated to fully funding the laboratory for Phillip Koeffler, MD, director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology (who also holds the Mark Goodson Chair in Oncology Research at CSMC).

Dr. Koeffler's research group is currently exploring molecular causes of breast cancer and novel therapies for the disease, including the use of a derivative from the outer skin of red grapes that has demonstrated a moderately potent anti-breast cancer effect by inhibiting growth and changes in cancer cells.

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United Hostesses' Charities

United Hostesses' Charities was founded in 1942, when it provided seeded money for the Blue Baby Clinic at Cedars of Lebanon. Over the years, UHC has raised more than $9 million. In 1976, it established the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, which has continued to receive the organization's support for many years. In addition, UHC has supported the training of cardiologists from around the world through the UHC Harold J. Mirisch Fellowship. In 1992, a $2 million pledge endowed the United Hostesses' Charities Cardiac Research Floor in the Barbara and Marvin Davis Research Building-a leading-edge facility for Cedars-Sinai research staff.

The newest recipient of UHC's funding is P.K. Shah, MD, Cedars-Sinai Director of the Division of Cardiology, who is dedicated to the prevention, treatment and possible reversal of heart disease.

In addition, United Hostesses' Charities supports the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center in Culver City, the UHC Counseling Center, and the 24-hour Psychological Trauma Hotline/Suicide Prevention Center.

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Women's Cancer Research Institute

Cancers of the breast and reproductive tract strike more than one-quarter million women in the U.S. each year, and the Women's Cancer Research Institute at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute is dedicated to eradicating this threat.

Established in January 2002, the Women's Cancer Research Institute fosters collaborative research between scientists and physicians to bring the most innovative laboratory discoveries directly to patients in need. As a result, WCRI has developed a multidisciplinary program that focuses on research, education, early detection, and prevention.

Throughout each year, the WCRI hosts a wide variety of events--"Run for Her", "the Pink Party", and "TEAM Golf"--all of which raise essential funds to fuel the battle against gynecologic and breast cancers for women.

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Women's Guild

Since its founding in 1957, the Women's Guild has raised more than $12 million in support of 70 projects, including the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment and funding programs in patient care, biomedical research and education.

In 1958, the Guild created the concept of staging a movie premiere fund-raiser. In May 1996, the Women's Guild launched another innovative effort, the Los Angeles Antiques Show. In conjunction with the Antique Dealers Association of California, the show has raised well over $1.5 million since its inception. These monies have been designated for the Women's Guild Chair in Women's Health. In 1998, Claude L. Hughes, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., was named holder of that chair, which oversees programs and research in the early diagnosis, prevention, treatment and cures for a multitude of diseases affecting women.

Prior to the Chair in Women's Health, the Guild provided funding for the Women's Guild Pavilion and a special "Easy Street" environment for patient rehabilitation. The group also established, and continues to support, the Women's Guild Hospice Program, is a major supporter of the AIDS & Immune Disorders Center, and provides fellowships through its Mildred Allenberg Research & Education Endowment Fund.

Recently, the Women's Guild funded two new research projects: a study of coronary heart disease in women, and the Women's Guild Osteoporosis Project. In addition, the Guild embarked on a bold campaign to launch the Women's Guild Lung Institute.

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