Community Corner
Cancer Research Fundraiser Goombay Bash to Reach 10th Year with Aug. 7 Party
The H Foundation, created after two local employees were diagnosed with cancer, is to hold its annual fundraiser Aug. 7 at Navy Pier.
Long ago, in a place far away, a group of friends came up with a plan to put an end to "the c-word".
Nine years into their plan, members of that group—now called the H Foundation—have raised $2 million to advance basic science cancer research at Northwestern University.
On Aug. 7 the H Foundation is to hold its 10th annual Goombay Bash fundraiser, named after a cocktail called "Goombay Smash", which is what the group of friends were drinking while vacationing in that place far away—the Bahamas islands.
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In reference to the Bahamas, the fundraiser, to be held in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier in Chicago, is a Caribbean-style party, with a black-tie feel. Honorary H Foundation Board Member Rob Johnson, the CBS 2 news anchor, is to host the evening, which is to include a steel drum band, gourmet buffet, live and silent auctions, raffles and dancing, with the surrounding view of Lake Michigan and the twinkling Chicago nighttime skyline.
Goombay Bash originated from more than general goodwill of island vacationers—its creation was inspired by two Horton's employees who had been diagnosed with cancer: Pam Herts, after whom the foundation is named, and Don Winkle, who sadly both passed away before the inaugural Bash.
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Steve Palmer, co-owner of Palmer Place restaurant in La Grange, which is just a few doors down from Horton's, has been affected by the passing of Herts and Winkle, and by his own father's battle with the disease.
Palmer, an H Foundation Board member who was part of the group in the Bahamas that founded the fundraiser, said the Goombay Bash auction, which is to feature touch-pad technology for the first time, should not be a source of pressure for attendees.
"We love everybody. The person who came to spend $20 is just as important as the person that came to spend $10,000" he said.
Last year's Goombay Bash raised more than $450,000, which was donated to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Jennifer Bowker, manager of communications at Northwestern, said the annual event has exceeded expectations in its donations to the Center.
