Gilda’s Club South Florida ‘On the Move’

Gilda’s Club South Florida ’On the Move’: Capital Campaign Underway

 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – (September 29, 2021) – Gilda’s Club South Florida, an affiliate of the Cancer Support Community (CSC), the world’s largest provider of professionally-led cancer support, is relocating from its Clubhouse of the past 25 years to a new facility that will give much needed room for increased membership while continuing to provide free support programs and services for men, women, and children impacted by cancer.

Gilda’s Clubhouse’s new South Florida address is 4850 W. Prospect Road in Fort Lauderdale. The move comes after years of planning. Gilda’s Club South Florida also conducted a feasibility study in 2020 that validated the need and the community’s support for the initiative.

“We’ve recently experienced a 277% increase in members served, and 37% increase in visits to the Clubhouse. Our new facility will help serve all who need our services very comfortably,” said Kim Praitano, CEO of Gilda’s Club South Florida. “An exceptional opportunity came up for us to consider when the property on Prospect Road became available. We just knew it was the right place. With its central Broward location, it will be easy for our members to get to, and our goal is preparing the building for a time when it’s safe to serve our more than 5,000 members.”

The move has prompted a capital campaign effort to realize the financial goal of a total of $4.6 million. To date, $2.3 million has been raised.

Gilda’s Club South Florida recently hired a new Vice President of Development, Suzanne Tharpe, to oversee the fundraising for the campaign. “We’ve expanded services as well as the number of cancer patients requesting services, so moving became a necessity. We’ve planned for a capital campaign to address the growth trends we saw in the last several years,” said Tharpe.

“We are reaching out to the entire South Florida community to help us reach our goal,” said Tharpe. “As membership in Gilda’s Club has grown, a vital part of our mission is to be sure to reach people who have put off regular cancer screenings during the pandemic. Our new clubhouse will triple the size of our original clubhouse to 15,000 square feet.”

Gilda’s Club’s website features a Giving Portal for donations, however large or small. “We’re asking people to make an impact on serving those with cancer, those who care for those with cancer, and those who have lost loved ones to cancer,” said Tharpe. “To honor a friend or loved one’s memory by contributing to Gilda’s mission of providing free service to cancer patients is a wonderful way to pay it forward.”

About Gilda’s Club South Florida

Gilda’s Club South Florida, named in honor of comedian Gilda Radner, is a free, nonprofit cancer support community. The mission of Gilda’s Club is to ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community. Our innovative program is an essential complement to medical care, providing networking and support groups, healthy lifestyles workshops, educational lectures and social activities. Gilda’s Club South Florida has been providing programs to those living with cancer and their family and friends since 1997. For more information about Gilda’s Club, visit www.gildasclubsouthflorida.org