The American-Italian Cancer Foundation held its 41st Annual Benefit on Wednesday night. The event consisted of a cocktail hour, dinner, and a live and silent auction; it was held at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City.
The AICF, founded in 1980, primarily focuses on funding a fellowship research program and providing screening services for breast cancer. Since its inception, the foundation has experienced success and significant growth; they attribute this to international collaboration among scientific, social, and corporate leaders in the US and Italy.
Shortly after its establishment, the organization formed its Scientific Advisory Board; it is comprised of leading international cancer researchers and clinicians, both in the U.S. and Italy, and is responsible for awarding grants through the fellowship program. Last night, several fellows were in attendance and they watched the event intently. The fact that their future work in cancer research rests on the outcome of a charity auction is both a sad comment on the state of Italian medicine and an important recognition of the AICF’s vital work.
The AICF’s Mobile Breast Cancer Screening Program provides no-cost mammograms and clinical breast exams for economically disadvantaged and medically underserved women in the five boroughs of New York City program. The program has been running since 1987 and screens over 5,000 women per year.
Last night, representatives of the Foundation announced a new program that will seek to provide free prostate cancer screening to mirror its mammogram services. This is a revival of a pilot program they first launched in 1998 and terminated in 2003.
The AICF also began recognizing outstanding scientific achievement in the fields of cancer biology, diagnosis and prevention through an annual awards program; in 2003, this program officially became the Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine. The award comes with a $100,000 monetary award (split amongst the two winners) and is sponsored by the Alexander Bodini Foundation.
Last night, the prize was awarded to Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, Director for the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and Global Health at the University of Chicago, and Michele Pagano, chair of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The event also recognized Mario J. Gabelli, Chairman of Gabelli Fund and Executive Chair of Associated Capita, with the 2023 Alessandro di Montezemolo Lifetime Achievement Award.
Daniele Bodini, Chairman of the AICF, says that “the foundation operates through two excellencies, the excellence of the Italian youth that works in the field of medicine and the excellence of American oncological institutes, for the common good of our two countries and the for the global battle against cancer.” He also sees the Mobile Breast Cancer Screening program as a direct way that the Italian-American community in New York can give back to the city.
Through ticket purchases and auction events, last night’s Annual Benefit raised upwards of $1.3 million. The AICF splits its funding down the middle, with half going to its breast cancer screening services and half being used to award research grants. It’s important to note that, unlike many other non-profits, the AICF operates extremely effectively; roughly 90% of all money it receives is deployed through its programs to help the fight against cancer.
If you would like to donate to the AICF, you can do so here.
