$105,000 donated for breast cancer research in Houston
The Nancy Owens Memorial Foundation hosted its 16th annual luncheon with celebrity guest speaker, Joan Lunden, on Oct. 16 at the Hilton Americas — Houston.
Over 750 attended the event.
The Nancy Owens Memorial Foundation was organized to fund qualified public charities that support education, care and research to find a cure for breast cancer, while memorializing Nancy Owens’s life, the values she lived by and the courage with which she faced her battle with breast cancer.
Owens was a longtime Houston Realtor.
Ilona Carson served as the mistress of ceremonies for the event, and silent auction items included a signed J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney football, Astros tickets and a Dior gift basket.
Among the raffle prizes were Lisa Bridge rose quartz ring and earrings, donated by Ben Bridge Jeweler, and a Yeti cooler filled with spirits and a $500 gift card donated by Ken Jacobson with Hometrust Mortgage Co.
Lunden, an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, motivational speaker, and women’s health and wellness advocate, inspired the crowd as she shared the story of her battle against breast cancer and the transformative effect it has had on her life, as well as her work on Capitol Hill as an advocate for patients across the country.
“It’s now my turn to pay it forward,” said Lunden, a longtime TV personality on Good Morning America. “I once heard a quote that there are two great days in our life, the day we are born and the day we discover why.”
The luncheon also included a special presentation of the 2017 Spirit of Courage Award to Alyson Haas, a remarkable Houstonian who won the battle against breast cancer and went on to start her own company that donates a portion of proceeds from every sale to breast cancer research.
Proceeds from the luncheon benefit breast cancer research in the Houston area, and a donation of $105,000 was presented to Matthew Ellis, Ph.D., with The Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor ColMittendorf, lege of Medicine; Elizabeth M.D., Ph.D., with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; and Alessandro Grattoni, Ph.D., with Houston Methodist Research Institute, The Department of Nanomedicine.