For only $100 you have the opportunity to win one of 10 fabulous Live Auction items, and only 150 tickets will be sold. Now those are great odds!

How the "Best of Live" Raffle Works:

1. Preview the Best of Live Auction Items  

2. Pick your favorite item and note it on your raffle form

3. On the evening of Stepping Out, one raffle ticket will be selected from the 150 entries. The winner will receive his/her Best of Live choice. The items not selected will be auctioned off as part of our regular live auction.

To order your casino "chips" download the form and mail it with your check now so you can begin playing the moment you arrive.

Reserve by September 15

Find out more

Meet Our 007 Jewels

Leading the 2011 Stepping Out sponsor team, Brayton Purcell sparkles again as our Diamond Sponsor with a contribution of $25,000. Joining the Sapphire group of donors at the $15,000 level are Kaiser Permanente and Marin Specialty Care. And adding their glow to the 007 Jewels are the Emerald sponsors with generous donations of $7,500 to $10,000-Fenwick Foundation, Frank & Lois Noonan, Wareham Development and Jaguar/Land Rover/Aston Martin/Fisker Marin, a Price Family Dealership. This amazing 007 team helps To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation provide both support for our grants program and you with "A Night to Bond." Join them for an amazing evening at Stepping Out.

Mary Mathews - Independent Living Advocate and 2011 Stepping Out Model  

Mary joined the Marin Center for Independent Living, a To Celebrate Life grantee, in 2003. Primarily dedicated to benefits counseling for people with disabilities and seniors, MCIL started a program for women with breast cancer in 2005. "Our goal is to keep people housed and keep them from losing their insurance," says Mary. MCIL works with about 50 women a year, assisting them with COBRA and helping them access other available programs.

"When people get diagnosed with breast cancer and go through treatment, it can be overwhelming to have to take care of bills," says Mary. "It helps them get through the process when they get that bit of extra support." Most of the breast cancer clients MCIL serves are self-employed women or single moms.

Mary feels honored to "help people get through the critical few months and assist them in putting together a plan so when they are done with treatments they can come back into the world and be strong again."

Judy Pack was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. Six years later, her 47-year-old daughter, Jennifer Lauter, got "the call." Tests indicated there was no genetic connection involved. Judy is thrilled to be a 6+ year survivor, and Jennifer is grateful for the new friends and closer bonds that resulted from her cancer experience. On October 1, both women will be celebrating life in our spectacular "The World is Not Enough" fashion show.

A Model's Story

Leslie Vanoni, who will be modeling in Stepping Out on October 1, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer on December 2, 2001, her twin daughters' 4th birthday.  She spent all of 2002 in treatment with multiple surgeries, 8 rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Leslie used her diagnosis as an excuse to be miserable. Even when her doctors indicated she was in full remission, she held on to the anger and self-pity. "I hurt many people along the way. I lost friends, family, but most of all I lost myself," she says.  

Over time, she had a change of heart and began to heal.  She said, "If I ever have cancer again, I only ask that I handle it with some GRACE."

On Valentine's Day 2011, Leslie was diagnosed withstage 4 breast cancer.  The story continues...

Faces of the Foundation - Janice Still 

That year she teamed up with B.B. Bernheim and several other Marin breast cancer survivors to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The group called themselves the Marin Breast Cancer Committee (later changed to Marin Breast Cancer Council). Janice and the others not only did all the planning and setting up of the event, they modeled and cleaned up, too!

Encouraged by their success (they raised $30,000), the women decided to make this an annual event, and the next year they held an evening gala in a hangar at Hamilton Field. "It was magical," says Janice, who modeled again that year to a crowd of nearly 500. "We wanted the money we raised to help women and families in Marin County," recalls Janice. "I remember helping one gal from the canal district get her sister up here from Mexico so she could help during her recovery."

For the last seven years, Janice has graciously offered her home for the Stepping Out model luncheon, the kickoff event for the fashion show. "What's wonderful is that we are helping women, and to see the models giving back makes me feel good," she says.

First Come, First Served!

Courtesy of Harbor Point Charitable Foundation, To Celebrate Life is selling General Admission tickets for Saturday, Sept. 24, and Box Seats for both days. Regular General Admission ticket price is $35, your price, $20; Box Seat list ticket price is $250, your price $200 or $350 for two. All proceeds from tickets purchased directly from us benefit To Celebrate Life. Contact Kathy Meyer at 415.455.5882.

Note: John McEnroe will only be at Sunday's events

Stepping Out Silent Auction opens September 3rd and will be online for bidding until October 3rd. Bid early and often for restaurant gift certificates, wine tastings and tours, theater tickets, golf lessons and so much more!   We still need auction donations of fine jewelry and fine wine. Download the donation form here.

In the LOOP goes quarterly. Starting in November, our newsletter will go from a monthly to a quarterly schedule, timed to coincide with the Foundation's major events. But don't worry about missing out on the news. You will receive separate email notifications about meetings or other important updates.

Your donations at work - To Celebrate Life 2010 grants totaling $270,000 benefited over 1,700 clients served by the 21 nonprofit organizations funded. Here's a sampling of what your dollars helped to provide:

• Over 500 screening and diagnostic tests primarily for symptomatic women and men.
• This testing identified at least six breast cancers, saving lives and improving quality of life after treatment because of early diagnosis.
• Emergency funds helped 78 breast cancer patients pay rent or utilities or helped stabilize them financially during a challenging time.
• More than 9,000 meals nourished 80 breast cancer patients and their families while they were in treatment
• More than 200 complementary therapy treatments  

Help make a difference in someone's life... 

If you have Foundation updates or meeting information to submit for consideration for the next issue, send to: In the LOOP