City of Hope at Cosmoprof 2013 a Success

Last night MODERN SALON Editors attended the 2013 City of Hope Gala at the Mandalay Bay Hotel during Cosmoprof North America in Las Vegas. The evening opened with a cocktail reception, and then proceeded to dinner with motivational speeches by diabetes survivors to industry leaders.

The gala kicked off with a welcome speech by Celebrity Emcee, Mario Lopez who introduced special guest Susan Weinberg, a City of Hope patient who is the longest living survivor of the “Island Transplant.” Weinberg discussed her struggles with diabetes, which she had since childhood. Throughout time her diabetes became so overbearing that every time she ate or drank something she needed to take an injection. “After feeling helpless for many years because of my condition, I found out that City of Hope was doing an experimental study on diabetes. The procedure consisted of them taking insulin from a healthy patient and then injecting the insulin in my liver. It worked, and within 12 hours I was creating insulin on my own. It’s been over 9 years, and I haven’t gotten a low blood sugar episode!”

“I am no longer trapped in my own body, I didn’t realize how many people are undiagnosed every day, I am committed to City of hope and I am so thankful they helped me get my life back,” says Weinberg.

After a dinner intermission, Richard Carranza, Superintendent of San Francisco Unified School, presented The Spirit of Life Award to his brother Reuben Carranza. In a heartwarming acknowledgment, Rebuen said the message below.

“I am very humbled by this award, there are thousands of professionals that make a difference in people’s lives every day. How fortunate are we to be part of an industry, a profession and a craft, how fortunate are we as hairdressers to touch half of North America population every four weeks in the most intimate way, it’s a powerful opportunity. I was fortunate to be the godson of a hairdresser, I witnessed the power of relationships between the client and the professional. What a powerful group, that is why I believe our relationship with City of Hope is so powerful. City of Hope is our business’ best partner.

"Our Hope in Style campaign can grow past this dinner and we need to do something about diabetes which is ravaging our industry. We wanted to raise $1.5 million for this campaign and as of Friday, we have surpassed the 1.5 million donation! Things that we said couldn’t happen happened, we have all aspects of our industry involved. We are coming together as a industry as we should. Lastly, I need your help because the campaign is not over, as Mario referenced we have this going through November.

Please continue the fight through your fundraising. I am proud to be a citizen of hope and I am happy to have you as all citizens of hope as well."

The event concluded with Carranza announcing the 2014 Spirit of Life Award Winner—Harland Kirshner!

Stay tuned to a video of Carranza's speech.