Beneficiaries

The SCCBG selects a variety of beneficiaries who are providing much needed support and research for people with cancer in our community. The following is a list of some of recipients of funds from past events.

Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz
Hospice Caring Project provides compassionate presence and professional expertise for individuals and their families confronted with end of life and ensuing loss. Essential to this mission are the core values of dignity, comfort and self-determination.
www.hospicesantacruz.org

Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Association
Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Association offers programs that improve the quality of life for children with cancer and ease the challenges their families face. Their services cater to the most elemental needs; ensuring that families don't go hungry emotionally, socially or physically.
http://www.jacobsheart.org

Katz Cancer Resource Center
The Bennett & Suzy Katz Cancer Resource Center at Dominican Hospital offers patients and their loved ones a place to get the support they need. The Katz Cancer Resource Center provides no-charge access to information and services related to all aspects of cancer care.
Annual Budget $200,000

WomenCARE, Cancer Advocacy, Resources and Education
WomenCARE, (Women’s Cancer Advocacy, Resources and Education), founded by women with cancer for women with cancer, provides advocacy, free resources, education, one-on-one and group support, practical support and healing workshops to all women facing all types of cancer, and to their families, friends, and caregivers throughout diagnosis, healing, surviving or dying. http://www.womencaresantacruz.org/

“Billy’s Foundation”-William S. Graham Foundation for Melanoma Research
The Primary activities for this 501(C)3, non-profit foundation is to raise funds in support of research designated to finding the cure for the later stages of the deadly disease, Malignant Melanoma, to educate the public regarding the cause and prevention; and through specific public awareness programs assist in the early detection of this insidious, potentially lethal cancer.
http://bfmelanoma.com

Fellowship program for cancer research
In 2005 the board of directors decided to shift their research funding from a highly diluted beneficiary and started a fellowship funding project to directly support the individual researchers in local labs.

The first recipient of the SCCBG Fellowship was awarded to Jennifer Compton, Ph.D at UCSC. Dr. Compton’s work focuses on molecular mechanisms and mutations of a gene called BRCA-1, which is implicated in breast cancer. With her broad background and laboratory experience, Dr. Compton has hypothesized that BRCA-1’s functional association with estrus cycle proteins plays a role in survival of cancer prone breast stem cells. This work promises to shed light on the molecular origins of breast cancer that could possibly lead to better prevention.