 |
|
|
|
|
|
Grace Heffernan Arnold was born in Port Townsend, Washington, and moved to Seattle in the early 1900s. After her marriage to Lawrence M. Arnold, she became a tireless philanthropist in the Seattle community. In 1955, Grace Heffernan Arnold along with Dr. William Hutchinson helped found the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation (PNRF), the first non-profit biomedical research organization in the Northwest and predecessor to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
When Dr. Hutchinson’s brother, Fred Hutchinson, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1963 and died one year later, at the age of 45, Dr. Hutchinson was determined to create a center devoted to the study of cancer.
Through PNRF, the Arnold family helped Dr. Hutchinson launch Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 1972. Unfortunately, Grace did not live to see their dream come to fruition. She herself died of cancer, as did one son, Lawrence H. Arnold.
After their deaths, her husband and other son, Robert M. Arnold, donated a library to the Hutchinson Center in their memory.
In 1975, the Grace Heffernan Arnold Guild was formed to honor her memory. The Guild is one of 15 volunteer groups supporting the Hutchinson Center. Beginning in 1975 as a small dinner party, the Guild's efforts slowly evolved into what is today the Hutch Holiday Gala, the Hutchinson Center's largest annual fund-raising event and one of the largest of its kind in the country.
The Arnold Guild has raised more than $58 million over the past 33 years. Recently, the Gala has helped make giant monetary contributions in the fight to eliminate cancer as a cause of human suffering and death. In 2007 two families who recognize the power of private support offered a $1.5 million challenge that brought the event total to over $4.2 million. Vern and Alice Coulon established the Vern and Alice Coulon Childhood Cancers Endowment Fund with a gift of $1 million. Susie Morganti honored her late husband, Johnny, her niece, Jackie Bylund, and her family’s annual Fourth of July charity auction with her $500,000 gift.
The Coulon's and Susie Morganti's gifts and all the money raised at the Hutch Holiday Gala support the following research initiatives, and patient and family programs at the Hutchinson Center:
- Childhood cancers
- Early detection and intervention
- Fundamental research
- Global health
- Hutch School
- Tumor research
If you would like more information about the Arnold Guild or the Hutchinson Center, please contact:
Kevin Parker
Gala Manager, Hutch Holiday Gala
(206) 667-5423 ksparker@fhcrc.org
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
"I do not believe there is another organization so committed to serving its mission - I enjoy being a part of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center community and helping to meet its goals."
Laura Welle
Arnold Guild members Nikki Balt, Laura Welle and Lisa Carlson
|
|
|
|
