Honoree Connie Champagne, presenter James Hormel, honoree Sandra hernandez and Executive Director Kaushik Roy. Photo by Rink. |
By Dennis McMillan
Published: October 21, 2010
Shanti’s 36th annual benefit, “Compassion Is Universal,” was held on Oct. 13 at Hotel Nikko. Founded in 1974 by Dr. Charlie Garfield at the UCSF Cancer Institute, Shanti was one of the first-ever volunteer organizations to work with terminally ill individuals, and later became one of the very first community-based HIV/AIDS organizations in the world. Shanti has trained over 15,000 volunteers in the Bay Area and 600 organizations worldwide in the Shanti Model of Peer Support. In the Bay Area alone, Shanti volunteers have provided over 3 million hours of care-giving. Each year, Shanti serves over 2,400 people with breast cancer or HIV/AIDS, so that a client does not have to face a life-threatening illness alone. During the dinner, overhead screens showed videos of various happy clients and their Shanti volunteers helping to walk a dog or shop for groceries or just the two enjoying being together in a moment of unconditional love.
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