Lights of Life gala to shine Feb. 27 in Dover

The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition has announced the Lights of Life gala (formerly known as Southern Lights of Life) will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, Feb. 27, at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. This year’s celebration will be a commemoration of the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition’s 25 years of service to the community.

It is Delaware’s premier breast cancer fundraiser with all proceeds benefiting DBCC’s programs and services in the local community. Through fundraising efforts, DBCC proudly serves nearly 6,000 women and men a year in Delaware.

Lights of Life involves a sensational evening of Living and Giving. The evening will begin with gourmet food stations, cocktails, and live and silent auctions from 7 to 10 p.m. The live auction will feature one-of-a-kind trips, experiences, and tickets like an eight-day Rhine or Danube cruise for two, four tickets to Kenny Chesney’s Spread the Love Tour, and more. The 10 p.m. to midnight hours will include live music by local cover band Kristen and the Noise followed by dancing and a cash bar.

Each year, community members support the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition’s Lights of Life gala through donations, volunteering, sponsorships, and attendance in a cooperative effort to come together and support neighbors faced with breast cancer. Individual reservations are $150 with levels of sponsorship beginning at $500. The 2016 Lights of Life co-chairs are Susan Chinnici; Gerri Coble; Michele Domenick, MD; Patricia Key, CPA; Kelli Meoli; Okemah Strickland; and Claire Zaragoza. This year’s honorary chair is Don Tricarico, RN, MSA, CNOR. As of Jan. 12, major 2016 event sponsors include Bayhealth Medical Center, M&T Bank, the Chinnici family, Highmark Delaware, George and Lynch, Beebe Healthcare, Macy’s, Harrington Raceway, Nanticoke Medical Center, Regional Hematology and Oncology, SSD Technology, Tanger Outlets, Horty, Ciro and Laura Poppiti, Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care Health Systems, Wealth Management, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, L&W Insurance, IG Burton BMW, Delaware State News, Delmarva Power, Kent County Women’s Journal, and Delmarva Broadcasting Company of Milford. Additional sponsors will be disclosed at the event.

“This year’s Lights of Life gala will be a true statewide celebration,” said Vicky Cooke, executive director at the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. “We are thrilled to be bringing together survivors, community members, and friends of the agency in recognition of 25 years of service in the community. Over the last two and a half decades, the mortality rate of breast cancer has decreased but the incidence continues to rise. We are proud to be this state’s most trusted breast cancer resource and will continue to provide support and resources to thousands of women and men who have been affected by breast cancer in Delaware and our surrounding communities.”

The generous support of the community enabled DBCC to raise over $152,000 at the 2015 Southern Lights of Life gala. The funds were used to support breast cancer programs in Delaware which increase breast cancer awareness, promote the importance of early detection, provide access to mammograms and bilingual health navigators, and deliver support and resources to women and men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

This event has sold out in previous years. To make reservations online, go to www.debreastcancer.org/Lights/. For information about sponsorships, advertising, and item donation, contact Michelle Marshall at mmarshall@debreastcancer.org or 302-672-6435.

For more information about the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, call 866-312-DBCC (3222) or go to www.debreastcancer.org.