Stepping Out Gala Celebrates Thirtieth Anniversary with $645,000 Raised

To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation marked three decades of community impact on September 27 at Marin Center Exhibit Hall in San Rafael, where 465 guests raised $645,000 for Bay Area nonprofits providing critical services to underserved breast cancer patients. The thirtieth anniversary Stepping Out gala featured a fashion show with 28 local models thriving after breast cancer, each escorted by prominent physicians including Foundation supporters Dr. Bobbie Head, Dr. Francine Halberg and Dr. Cynthia Goodman. A particularly poignant moment in the program showcased alumni models from the past 30 years including founders Janice Still, Maria Edelstein, Kathryn Servino, Patti Bryson and Kathleen Clark from the original 1996 class. 

McCalls Catering created an elegant dining experience featuring Marin Farms center-cut filet mignon with foraged Sierra mushrooms, potato mousseline and cognac demi-glace, paired with Bricoleur sparkling wines and Pisoni Winery selections, while Entourage The Band kept guests dancing throughout the evening. Fashion show producer Lisa Lucero orchestrated the runway presentation alongside Stepping Out Gala Chair Julie Ballard and To Celebrate Life Board President Julia Wooding, while longtime sponsors including former board president Jeanne Capurro, Harbor Point Charitable Foundation’s Ray Kaliski and Carla Daro-Kalisky, and Bank of Marin’s Tamara Ressler celebrated a foundation that began in a Kentfield estate garden in 1996. The reunion atmosphere resonated deeply as Kaiser’s Armika Berkley and MarinHealth’s Dr. Natalya Lvoff joined former board presidents Wendy Barbaria and Kristen Bennett, demonstrating how the Foundation’s vision that “No one should face breast cancer alone” has created lasting community bonds.