Barrington, Northfield residents to Co-chair Rush Woman’s Board’s First Virtual Fundraiser on October 2nd

On Friday, October 2, 2020, The Woman’s Board of Rush University Medical Center will host its annual Fall Benefit, a fundraiser supporting the Medical Center’s education, research, and community engagement programs as well as The Woman’s Board Transformation Fund for the Rush University Cancer Center. Themed “Destination Excellence,” the Fall Benefit has been re-imagined this year as a virtual event featuring a wine tasting and live jazz performances.

Elizabeth Bigelow of Northfield and Wendy Herb of Barrington will co-chair the 2020 Fall Benefit, along with Gwen Geller of Chicago. Although Bigelow and Herb have served on the Rush Woman’s Board for twenty and eight years, respectively, this will be the first event that either woman has co-chaired on behalf of the organization.

“When we began planning the Fall Benefit back in 2019, we’d envisioned a festive party at a fabulous lakefront venue with music from a wonderful local band,” said Bigelow. “When COVID hit, we realized that we’d have to switch gears and find a new way to engage The Woman’s Board’s many supporters, as well as our corporate donors, in a fun but socially-distanced way.”

Herb continued, “After much discussion, we decided that a virtual event would be a wonderful way for us to honor our commitment to raising money for Rush. The need is more urgent than ever — because people battling cancer are even more susceptible to COVID, it is that much more important that The Woman’s Board support the Rush Cancer Center and its initiatives to keep these patients safe.”

During the virtual event, guests will enjoy an exclusive wine tasting led by Todd Hess and Veronica Hastings of H2Vino, an importer and distributor of fine wines from around the world. Hess and Hastings will guide guests through three wines: a Grand Cru Champagne, a top-ranked California Chardonnay, and a historic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Both before and after the wine tasting, the Patrick Donley Quartet will entertain guests with a selection of jazz favorites.

Tickets are available at three levels: Enthusiast ($350), which includes three bottles of wine and a goodie bag; Sommelier ($1,000), which includes six bottles and a goodie bag; and Vintner, which includes 12 bottles of wine and a goodie bag ($2,500). Bottles of wine and goodie bags will be hand-delivered to the ticket holders’ homes approximately one week before the event.

As previously mentioned, proceeds from the Fall Benefit will go toward The Woman’s Board’s 2020 principal project: The Woman’s Board Transformation Fund. The Transformation fund provides Rush University Cancer Center with the resources to create an extraordinary “new normal” for cancer care across Rush University System for Health. Supporting bold initiatives that aim to reshape the way patients access cancer care, decrease delays to treatment, reduce risk in the post-COVID-19 era, and improve patients’ long-term outcomes, this fund will be invaluable toward delivering on Rush’s goal to become the preeminent destination for cancer care in the Chicago area.

For more information about the Fall Benefit or to purchase tickets, please visit thewomansboard.org or contact The Woman’s Board office at (312) 942-6513.

Originally published on September 4, 2020. Read the Daily Herald article online here.