JILL PORCELLATO CARE S Deborah McIntyre
In the Beginning . . . In 1997, Desert Mountain resident Sylvia Owens and two others were receiving treatment for breast cancer at the Mayo Clinic. They believed that more research could eventually lead to a cure, and they decided to take action. Working with the Club, they put together a golf tournament to raise money to donate to the Mayo Clinic to support breast cancer research. They raised $25,000 and delivered it to their doctor at Mayo Clinic in a brown paper bag. That was the humble beginning of CARE—Cancer Awareness through Research and Education. Based on the enthusiastic response to this first golf tournament and the generosity of our community, the founders decided to hold an annual golf event to continue to raise money and make a difference. Today, those donations are used to provide seed funding for many types of cancer research—not just breast cancer. Since 1997, CARE has donated $8.6 million to the Mayo Clinic and HonorHealth Research Institute, thanks to the support of the Desert Mountain Club and community, corporate sponsors and the tireless efforts of the CARE Board.
of the Board of Directors in 2017. She is passionate about CARE’s mission to provide seed funding to fight cancer through local, worldclass research and is proud of the results they have achieved. Here are the highlights: •
Fighting breast and prostate cancer. CARE’s initial gifts helped support research of breast and prostate cancer. HonorHealth Research Institute has become the recognized leader in clinical trials.
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Honing in on RADAR (Rapid Detection and Assessment of Response). CARE provided the seed funding for this program and continues to provide major support. The program’s goal is to identify early markers for cancer so it could be detected and diagnosed when treatment can be most effective.
CARE’s Support is Making a Difference Jill Porcellato is the current Chair of the CARE Board of Directors. She and her husband Larry have lived at Desert Mountain since 2014. They fell in love with Desert Mountain as soon as they drove through the gates, and decided on their first visit that this is where they wanted to retire. She began volunteering for CARE two weeks after she moved in. Jill served on several CARE committees, and was elected Chair
“ N E V E R D O U B T T H AT A S M A L L G R O U P O F T H O U G H T F U L , COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD; I N D E E D, I T ’ S T H E O N LY T H I N G T H AT E V E R H A S .” —MARGARET MEAD continued next page
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