​​SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, October 18th, 2023 and plan to attend!

Power of Pink Luncheon honoring our fellow Guild member, Mary Flaherty, Trustee, and former Chair of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, with the Ruth Well Spirit of Hope Award. Mary, one of the original founders of the Irene Dunne Guild, has been supporting Saint John's for YEARS in countless ways.  Congratulations, Mary!   

For more information, contact [email protected]. or Tess Csiszar at (310) 829-8168.

It was terrific to see so many of you at our Think Pink for Women's Wellness event held at the Upper Bel Air Bay Club on May 10th.

We thank Saint John's Health Center Foundation and Irene Dunne Guild President Stephanie Weston for their leadership and support, our Co-Chairs Susie DeWeese and Lorena Craven and their organizing Committee for their dedication, the event’s speakers for their engaging and valuable insights and information, the boutique vendors and the wonderful attendees for their support and participation in making Think Pink a huge success.
​
​To learn more about Think Pink, click here.

We are especially grateful for all the speakers at this year's event for generously sharing their valuable and informative insights and information with us. 

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Meena Said, Endocrine surgeon & Founder Wellness Worldwide

Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, Obstetrics and Gynecology Co-Founder of Perelel, a pre/post natal focused vitamin company

Dr. Amir Vokshoor, Neurosurgery and Spine Specialist minimally invasive surgical treatment of adult cranial and spinal disorders

Dr. Manali Shendrikar, Primary Care Medicine, Santa Monica Family Physicians

Megan Webber, Co-Founder, Know the Glow

Please reach out to them directly to learn more about their projects and services. 

By Sue Pascoe of Circling the News
​
“Think Pink for Women’s Wellness” is an Irene Dunne Guild annual event, that focuses on health education and awareness for women and their families.  This year’s event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10, at the Upper Bel Air Bay Club.

The event features break-through lectures with notable physicians and speakers. Over the years, topics have included healthy brain aging, addiction, urology, dermatology and breast health. The event culminates with a luncheon held in the dining room of the Upper Bel Air Bay Club overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Boutique shopping is available throughout the event with net proceeds benefitting programs, equipment and services at Providence Saint John’s Health Center.
Co-chairs Lorena Craven and Susie DeWeese said this year’s featured speaker is Dr. Meena Said, an endocrine surgeon, who will speak on “Wellness Worldwide: Treating Children with Cancer 8,000 Miles Away.”
Said’s family fled Afghanistan as refugees when she was a baby and lived in Germany for 18 months before moving to the U.S.

The doctor graduated summa cum laude from UCLA and then attended the UCLA School of Medicine, receiving the highest honor bestowed upon a medical student, The Deans Merit Scholarship. After graduating in 2006, Said completed an internal medicine internship at UCLA before pursuing her general surgery residency at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. She completed an Endocrine Surgery Fellowship at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Said has founded a humanitarian nonprofit called Wellness Worldwide to  provide healthcare as well as educational and social support to vulnerable populations, first in Afghanistan, but then, she envisions, in the neediest communities around the world. In a 2021 interview “She Saved My Life. And so Many Others,” the doctor said, “Every human life has equal value. Every man, woman and child deserve a chance to live — irrespective of gender, religion, political beliefs, ethnicity or race.”

Through Wellness Worldwide, she and a network of volunteer doctors deliver medical care and run a family clinic in a refugee camp in Nangarhar. “As a surgeon who operates on cancer patients, I know how desperate and vulnerable cancer patients can be,” she said. “In Afghanistan, there are no cancer facilities for adults or for children. There’s not a single radiation facility in the entire country.” A statistic Said quotes is that 75 percent of the world’s operations are performed on 25 percent of the world’s population.

In America, survival for all cancer children is 80 percent. In the low- and middle-income countries — Afghanistan is one of the five poorest countries on earth — that statistic is flipped: a 20 percent survival rate for children with all cancers.

The Irene Dunne Guild is celebrating its thirty-sixth year as a major support group of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation in Santa Monica. The guild has more than 100 members committed to finding innovative ways to fundraise, comfort patients, educate the community and nurture the mission of providing compassionate care click here.
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The public is invited to attend this event. Tickets are $175 per person. For more information, call (310) 829-8424. Co-chairs Craven and DeWeese said, “We would be thrilled to welcome you to Think Pink 2023.”

Please click here to view original post in Circling the News 

“Think Pink for Women’s Wellness” Event to Take Place in May “Think Pink for Women’s Wellness”, an Irene Dunne Guild annual event that focuses on health education and awareness for women and their families, will take place Wednesday, May 10th, from 8:30am-3:00 pm at the Upper Bel Air Bay Club. The Irene Dunne Guild, a support group of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, created Think Pink over 18 years ago as a gathering meant to educate women on important health issues. The event features breakthrough lectures with notable physicians and speakers. Over the years, topics have included healthy brain aging, addiction, urology, dermatology, and breast health. The event culminates with a luncheon held in the dining room of the Upper Bel Air Bay Club. Boutique shopping is available throughout the event with net proceeds benefiting programs, equipment, and services at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. Think Pink Co-Chairs are Lorena Craven and Susie DeWeese. Tickets are $175.00 per person. Visit www.irenedunneguild.org for more information. 
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Click here for original article on page 6 of the Beverly Hills Weekly

Last year’s Think Pink fundraiser may have saved Brooke Crane’s life.
The 39-year-old mother of two heard the main speaker, Dr. Chloe Bird, repeatedly urge the mostly female audience to pay attention if they felt tightness above their bellybuttons and below their chins. Crane, a lifelong Palisadian, took note, but didn’t think it would happen to her.
That night it did.
“It sort of felt like a fat man was sitting on my chest,” Crane said. “So what did I do? Initially, I just ignored it.”
​
The timing wasn’t good. Her husband, Bryan, was out of town, it was raining, and she had chores to do like putting her two daughters to bed. In order to go to the emergency room, she’d have to get assistance, including someone to stay with her kids, Carly, 8, and Caroline, 6.
However, Bird had insisted that women in particular need to put their health first, and when Crane paused and listened to her body, she felt an “uh-oh feeling.”
She had some other issues that had seemed minor: a persistent cough and fatigue plus a small bump on her right clavicle that her doctor had thought was just a swollen lymph node due to a cold. However, when Crane checked in with herself, she felt concerned.
“Something wasn’t quite right, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about Dr. Bird’s advice: I matter. I deserve to slow down, listen to my body and take action if necessary,” Crane said.
It was lucky that she listened. When she and her mother-in-law Janie Crane got to St. John’s Hospital, she learned after a battery of tests that she had fluid around her heart and a mass in her chest. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a rare blood cancer that accounts for .5 percent of cancers, had struck her.
However, Crane caught it in time, beat it with 12 rounds of chemotherapy in a six-month treatment plan, and this year on May 11, was the main speaker at the Irene Dunne Guild’s Think Pink event at the Bel-Air Bay Club.
Instead of a doctor offering advice, Crane was able to provide information from the patient’s point of view to the almost 250 attendees who came to learn more about women’s health care.
Her top ten “take-aways” from this life-changing experience were:
1.) Make the first 48 hours after the diagnosis count. In her case, she and her loved ones channeled their intense emotions into research and calls that created a manageable path for her treatment.
2.) Talk to people who have been through something similar.
3.) Get multiple opinions. Crane resisted this at first as she immediately liked the hospital’s oncologist. But then she got a second opinion and a third. The third time was a charm. Dr. Lawrence Piro’s treatment plan, which included an ABVD chemo regime that he helped invent, was the perfect match for her and created a less intense path that didn’t require radiation.
4.) Be willing to say yes when people offer advice and help, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. For Crane, this meant she accepted private yoga lessons from a mom she’d never met and made new friends who aided her.
5.) Give people specific tasks/jobs—they want to help so let them. A friend took over her emails, and another coordinated meals for her. Others regularly accompanied her to chemo treatments.
6.) Write a blog or journal—or find some other way to communicate simply with people, so that the task of notifying people of treatment progress is easier.
7.) Take control in your own way, and don’t let the disease control you. For Crane, this meant she chose to shave her head whether she would end up needing it or not.
8.) Have an open mind—Crane chose to try jin shin jytsu, a helpful acupressure treatment for the pain and nausea of chemo.
9.) Have faith in a higher power. Crane said she “chose faith over fear.”
And finally, “number 10,” Crane said, “which I learned last year, right here in this room from Dr. Bird, and it probably saved my life: ‘Listen to your body.’”
By LAUREL BUSBY
Staff Writer
Brooke Crane Photo: Glenn Marzano

Click here to link to original article in Palisades News

SANTA MONICA - The Irene Dunne Guild co-hosted the 2015 Caritas Gala in partnership with the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation board of trustees October 24 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills. The black-tie event honored Wendy Goldstein, executive vice president and head of urban A&R at Republic Records; civic leader Raylene and husband Bruce Meyer, president, Meyer Pacific; and philanthropist Merle Mullin and husband Peter Mullin, co-founder and chairman of the board of M Financial Holdings and chairman of Mullin │ Barens │ Sanford Financial.  The evening featured a special performance by DNCE which is fronted by Joe Jonas, with JinJoo, Cole Whittle and Jack Lawless.
 
Gala Dinner Chairs were Abbott L. Brown, Donna and David Elmore, S.H. Ho Foundation, Darcie Denkert Notkin and Shelby Notkin and Dominic Ornato.
 
Gala Chair Judy Beck and Dr. John Robertson, Chairman of Saint John’s Health Center Foundation Board of Trustees welcomed the more than 450 guests.  Beck enumerated the work of The Irene Dunne Guild, “supporting Saint John’s Health Center for 27 years with human and financial resources raising critical funds …supporting Saint John’s Emergency Department, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, the Child and Family Development Center and much more.”
 
Dr. Robertson thanked the honorees and gala guests as “those who give back to their community because they are compelled by a compassion for others and an honest desire to strengthen their community.”  He then welcomed Marcel Loh, Chief Executive of Saint John’s Health Center. 
 
“In 2015,” Loh said, “Saint John’s Health Center was cited as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals, marking the ninth straight year the Health Center has earned this distinction,”  leading him to announce the Center’s new branding campaign, “A place you can believe in.”
 
Dr. Lawrence Piro, President and CEO of The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, presented the 2015 Caritas Award to Wendy Goldstein, executive vice president and head of urban A&R at Republic Records. Goldstein’s focus has cultivated and bolstered the label’s presence within the urban realm. In 2013, she collaborated with Ariana Grande on the conception and release of her full-length debut, Yours Truly, which debuted #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and yielded the #1 double-platinum smash, The Way. Under her tenure, Republic Records signed Bay Area hip-hop sensation Sage the Gemini, soul crooner Adrian Marcel and super producer DJ Mustard. In addition, she handled artist & repertoire duties for Enrique Iglesias, Mika and Colbie Caillat among others. A division of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company, Republic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists including Ariana Grande, Black Sabbath, Florence + the Machine, Godsmack, Gotye, James Blake, Of Monsters and Men, Owl City, The Weeknd and Hailee Steinfeld.
  
Donna Tuttle presented The 2015 Spirit of Saint John’s Awards to Bruce and Raylene Meyer and Peter and Merle Mullin for their inspirational service to Providence Saint John’s Health Center and its mission. Bruce Meyer is president and founder of the family real estate investment company, Meyer Pacific, Inc. He presided over the Beverly Hills landmark retailer GEARYS for 35 years which remains in the family and is run by his nephew, Tom Blumenthal. Bruce is a long-time collector of vintage automobiles, historic race cars, and motorcycles and is actively involved in the Petersen Automotive Museum where he served as the first chairman of the board and still remains on its board today. He is a past president of the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation.
 
Raylene Meyer shares in her husband’s passion for family, philanthropy and automobiles.  Active with the Los Angeles Music Center, she is a member of the Blue Ribbon and chairs the organization’s 2016 Children’s Festival as well as past president and a current member of the Symphonians. A member of the Junior League of Los Angeles, Raylene has also served on the board of The Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Art Museum and is a member of the board of The Diadames of the Child Care League.  A long-time supporter of Children’s Hospital, she has served on the boards of their affiliate groups, Las Madrinas and Children’s Chain.
 
Peter Mullin is co-founder and chairman of the board of M Financial Holdings Incorporated and chairman of Mullin │ Barens │ Sanford Financial, an independent executive benefits and solutions provider and member of M Financial Group. He serves on the board of the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, the Art Center College of Design, Guggenheim Foundation Advisory Board and Occidental College. He is also chairman of the Peter Mullin Automotive Museum Foundation, chairman of the Peterson Automotive Museum and president of the American Bugatti Club.
 
Merle Mullin holds several board positions including the National Trust of Italy (FAI), the Blue Ribbon of the Music Center of Los Angeles, Diadames, and the Board of Visitors, UC Davis School of Viticulture and Enology. She is a fellow of the Huntington Gardens and Library and director of the Mullin Automotive Museum. The Mullins are proprietors of Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma, where they produce outstanding, highly rated pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
 
The Caritas Gala is co-hosted each year by the Irene Dunne Guild in partnership with the Saint John’s Foundation board of trustees to honor individuals who exemplify dedication and commitment to the community and embody the philosophy and mission of Providence Saint John’s. Net proceeds from the gala benefit vital programs and services at the Health Center. Since 1987, the guild has raised more than $11 million and has supported Providence Saint John’s through a wide variety of innovative philanthropic, educational and volunteer programs and services. The guild was named for the late actress Irene Dunne, considered the “First Lady” of Providence Saint John’s.
 
Past Caritas Gala honorees include Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, Martin Sheen, Vin Scully, Robert Wagner, Angela Lansbury, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards, Chris O’Donnell, David and Yolanda Foster, Tonian Hohberg, and Jimmy Stewart. 
# # #
 
Contact:
Pam Giangregorio                                         
Katy Sweet & Associates Public Relations
(310) 479-2333 / [email protected]              

​SANTA MONICA, CA – The Irene Dunne Guild co-hosts the 2015 Caritas Gala in partnership with the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation board of trustees, Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills. The black-tie event will honor Wendy Goldstein, executive vice president and head of urban A&R at Republic Records; civic leader Raylene Meyer and husband Bruce Meyer, president, Meyer Pacific; and philanthropist Merle Mullin and husband Peter Mullin, co-founder and chairman of the board of M Financial Holdings and chairman of Mullin │ Barens │ Sanford Financial. 
 
“This year’s honorees have not only excelled in their professional arenas, but each made a commitment early on to embrace the spirit of philanthropy and continue to live by that tenet,” said Robert O. Klein, president and CEO, Saint John’s Health Center Foundation. “It would be impossible to enumerate all they have given back to our community, but it is safe to say that each represents the dedication and commitment that embody the philosophy of Providence Saint John’s.”
 
“I share in congratulating these five extraordinary individuals,” said Kate Prudente, president of the Irene Dunne Guild. “Their myriad contributions toward the betterment of so many lives, past, present and future are emblematic of the goals of our organization.”
 
Wendy Goldstein, executive vice president and head of urban A&R at Republic Records will be honored with the 2015 Caritas Award. Goldstein’s focus has cultivated and bolstered the label’s presence within the urban realm. In 2013, she collaborated with Ariana Grande on the conception and release of her full-length debut, Yours Truly, which debuted #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and yielded the #1 double-platinum smash, The Way. Under her tenure, Republic Records signed Bay Area hip-hop sensation Sage the Gemini, soul crooner Adrian Marcel and super producer DJ Mustard. In addition, she handled artist & repertoire duties for Enrique Iglesias, Mika and Colbie Caillat among others. A division of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company, Republic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists including Ariana Grande, Black Sabbath, Florence + the Machine, Godsmack, Gotye, James Blake, Of Monsters and Men, Owl City, The Weeknd and Hailee Steinfeld.
 
The Spirit of Saint John’s Award will be presented to Foundation trustee Bruce Meyer and his wife Raylene for their inspirational service to Providence Saint John’s Health Center and its mission. Bruce Meyer is president and founder of the family real estate investment company, Meyer Pacific, Inc. Bruce Meyer presided over the Beverly Hills landmark retailer GEARYS for 35 years which remains in the family and is run by his nephew, Tom Blumenthal. Bruce is a long-time collector of vintage automobiles, historic race cars, and motorcycles and is actively involved in the Petersen Automotive Museum where he served as the first chairman of the board and still remains on its board today. He is a past president of the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation.
 
Raylene Meyer shares in her husband’s passion for family, philanthropy and automobiles.  Active with the Los Angeles Music Center, she is a member of the Blue Ribbon and chairs the organization’s 2016 Children’s Festival as well as past president and a current member of the Symphonians. A member of the Junior League of Los Angeles, Raylene has also served on the board of The Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Art Museum and is a member of the board of The Diadames of the Child Care League.  A long-time supporter of Children’s Hospital, she has served on the boards of their affiliate groups, Las Madrinas and Children’s Chain.
 
Peter Mullin and wife Merle will be honored with the Spirit of Saint John’s Award. Peter Mullin is co-founder and chairman of the board of M Financial Holdings Incorporated and chairman of Mullin │ Barens │ Sanford Financial, an independent executive benefits and solutions provider and member of M Financial Group. He serves on the board of the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation, the Art Center College of Design, Guggenheim Foundation Advisory Board and Occidental College. He is also chairman of the Peter Mullin Automotive Museum Foundation, chairman of the Peterson Automotive Museum and president of the American Bugatti Club.
 
Merle Mullin holds several board positions including the National Trust of Italy (FAI), the Blue Ribbon of the Music Center of Los Angeles, Diadames, and the Board of Visitors, UC Davis School of Viticulture and Enology. She is a fellow of the Huntington Gardens and Library and director of the Mullin Automotive Museum. The Mullins are proprietors of Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma, where they produce outstanding, highly rated pinot noir, syrah, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
 
The Caritas Gala is co-hosted each year by the Irene Dunne Guild in partnership with the Saint John’s Foundation board of trustees to honor individuals who exemplify dedication and commitment to the community and embody the philosophy and mission of Providence Saint John’s. Net proceeds from the gala benefit vital programs and services at the Health Center. Since 1987, the guild has raised more than $11 million and has supported Providence Saint John’s through a wide variety of innovative philanthropic, educational and volunteer programs and services. The guild was named for the late actress Irene Dunne, considered the “First Lady” of Providence Saint John’s.
 
Past Caritas Gala honorees include Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, Martin Sheen, Vin Scully, Robert Wagner, Angela Lansbury, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards, Chris O’Donnell, David and Yolanda Foster, Tonian Hohberg, and Jimmy Stewart.
 
Individual tickets to the Oct. 24 Caritas Gala are $500 and sponsorship packages are available. For more information, please contact Tess Csiszar at Saint John’s Health Center Foundation at 310-829-8168 or email at [email protected].
 
 # # #
 
Contact:
 
Pam Giangregorio                                         
Katy Sweet & Associates Public Relations
(310) 479-2333 / [email protected]              

All sales proceeds benefit the Irene Dunne Guild Patron Drive Fund which funds vital programs and equipment at Providence Saint John's Health Center.

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - The Irene Dunne Guild hosted their 10th Anniversary Think Pink for Women's Wellness event at the Bel Air Bay Club with a sold out crowd.  The event featured morning educational sessions on various health topics and a keynote address presented by notable speakers:

(Keynote) Assessing and Addressing the Gender Gap in Women's Health Care - Chloe Bird, PhD
Legacy of Great Parenting - Robin Berman, MD
Happy Heart, Healthy Heart - Nicole Weinberg, MD, FACC
Skin & The Immune System - Delphine Lee, MD, PhD, FAAD
Bone & Joint Health - Timothy Davis, MD

There was also an extensive shopping boutique with a large selection offered. A portion of all boutique proceeds benefits the Guild's Patron Drive Fund, used to support programs and equipment in departments throughout Saint John's Health Center. To date, the Guild has raised over $900,000 with their annual Patron Drive Fund for the benefit of Saint John's.