Day of Hope cancer fundraiser sets new record for money raised for 11th straight year
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Once again, the annual Day of Hope cancer fundraiser turned into a record-breaking event.
On Thursday morning, Dignity Health officials revealed this year's event, which was held last month on Aug. 21 in Santa Maria and several other surrounding communities, raised an all-time best amount of $409,013.
"I am so excited," said Kathleen Sullivan, Dignity Health Cancer Center Vice President of Oncology and Post Acute Care Services. "We had hoped for this. We planned for it. The community came out in such a big way and made this happen. $409,000, the biggest ever, 11 years into this. It's extraordinary. I'm so grateful."
The final total was announced during the "Day of Hope Thank You Celebration," a special event held for local media and participating teams.
The total breaks the previous record that was set last year when $373,630 was raised in 2023.
Since the Day of Hope was first held in 2014, the event has set a new record amount raised in each of its 11 years.
"It's just hard to believe every single year, the previous number that we couldn't imagine (topping), but the number just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and it comes from the community. It's amazing!"
Now that this year's funds have been collected, the overall amount that has been raised since 2014 through the Day of Hope has grown to $2,696,630.
"It makes me proud to be to be part of Mission Hope," said Day of Hope Co-Ambassador Eileen Hongo.t "The doctors, the nurses, the medical staff, the foundation, I can see why people believe in the center and why people continue to donate and why every single year."
Day of Hope is a yearly community fundraising event for Mission Hope Cancer Center, which operates facilities in Santa Maria and Arroyo Grande.
All of the proceeds collected during the event help support cancer patient assistance needs, the acquisition of new technology and equipment, and programs and services.
"These dollars go directly to patients," said Wilkinson. "That is support, whether it's transportation, social work, dietician, nutrition, direct patient support, whether someone needs help paying a bill. During a diagnosis of cancer, there's a lot of need, and through the community's generosity, we're able to help provide that need."
In addition to the announcement of how much money was raised during Day of Hope, the top fundraising teams were also revealed.
The overall top team was Team EJH, which including family and friends of Hongo. Together, Team EJH pulled in an impressive $36,048.
"We worked for every single dollar," said Hongo. "It really did take, our community to come up with this amount of money. It was friends on Facebook, friends on Instagram, raffles, businesses. We had so many donors donating, prizes for for raffles, and we just we capitalized on every single donation that we received trying to make the most money for Mission Hope."
With the 11th Annual Day of Hope now officially over, attention has already focused on next's event in 2025.
Sullivan noted initial planning is underway for the 12th Annual Day of Hope, which is likely to be held at a still to be determined date in August 2025.
"Let's aim for that 500," said Sullivan, mentioning a goal of $500,000 organizers are hoping to reach at some point in the near future, perhaps as soon as next year. "We start our planning committees right away and we are looking forward to next year."
