Support Groups

Hands-on involvement in one of Cedars-Sinai's many support groups can be very rewarding. With several support groups sponsoring a variety of fundraising events and activities, there's sure to be one that will give you that special sense of belonging to Cedars-Sinai family.

Please click on any of the following support group listings below for more information.  

Brain Trust

The Brain Trust is a support group, formed in 1998 by Linda Burrows, a grateful patient of Dr. Black who wanted to find a way to give back. The Brain Trust is a group of dynamic women who volunteer their time and efforts to raise funds and awareness for the work of Keith Black, MD.


Dr. Black serves as Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, Director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, and Director of the Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Brain Tumor Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. An internationally renowned neurosurgeon and scientist, Dr. Black joined Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in July 1997 and was awarded the Ruth and Lawrence Harvey Chair in Neuroscience.

To learn more or to make a donation, please visit the Brain Trust.

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Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors

The Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors helps to ensure that the Medical Center continues to provide world-class patient care and conduct leading-edge research.

Comprising more than 700 leaders in the Los Angeles community, the Board of Governors provides vital support to the hospital's clinical programs, biomedical research, and community outreach.

Established by the Board of Directors in 1971, the Board of Governors is one of the primary fundraising and leadership groups at Cedars-Sinai. Board of Governors members are enthusiastic participants in key committees and are ambitious and generous in fundraising initiatives. 

Learn more about the Board of Governors.

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Fashion Industries Guild

Fashion Industries Guild (FIG) was founded by Barney and Harvey Morse in 1956. Its members are individuals prominent in all facets of the fashion industry.

Since its founding, FIG has raised more than $13 million to help build the Seventh Floor South Patient Tower, Barney Morse Rehabilitation Center, Harvey S. Morse Conference Center and the Florence and "Duke" Becker Building.

FIG also sponsored the Arrhythmia Electro-physiology Research Program, purchased two two-dimensional echocardiograph machines and helped fund patient care, medical research and education at the Medical Center. FIG currently supports the Ruth Bregman Fashion Industries Guild Special Children's Program for clinical research of children with AIDS, and the Ruth Bregman pediatric AIDS Outpatient Clinic at Cedars-Sinai for patients and their families.

The GUESS?/Fashion Industries Chair in Community Child Health Endowment, dedicated in 1998, will enable the Medical Center to expand comprehensive health services for high-risk children.

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The Heart Foundation

The Heart Foundation was created in 1996 in memory of Steven S. Cohen who lost his life to a massive heart attack at the age of thirty-five.  The foundation is dedicated to increasing awareness of heart disease, supporting the groundbreaking cardiac research of Dr. P.K. Shah at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and honoring the memory of an incredible husband, father, son, brother and friend.  Our goal is to prevent, cure and eradicate this silent killer.

In 2001 The Heart Foundation established The Steven S. Cohen Humanitarian Award, presented at a gala dinner, to honor those who effect change within their communities and demonstrate a commitment to the betterment of humankind.  The Heart Foundation also hosts an annual golf tournament as well as other fundraising events.  

To learn more, visit The Heart Foundation’s website: www.theheartfoundation.org

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Helping Hand of Los Angeles

The Helping Hand of Los Angeles, Inc, formed in 1929, supports the Cedars-Sinai Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The group helped to establish the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Program and was the first organization at Cedars-Sinai to fund an Endowed Chair at the Medical Center. The Helping Hand of Los Angeles funded their first chair, The Helping Hand Miriam Jacobs Chair in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, in 1983. The group has since endowed a second chair: The Helping Hand of Los Angeles Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

The Helping Hand Gift Shop, located on the Plaza Level at Cedars-Sinai, is one of the largest and finest of its type in the country. Funds raised from shop sales, membership dues, tributes, baby photos, and an annual Mother's Day Luncheon all go directly to support Helping Hand projects.

The group has approximately 1,800 members, including 165 volunteers who work in the gift shop. Helping Hand has raised more than $21 million for Cedars-Sinai and currently contributes over one-half million dollars annually.

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Tom Collier Memorial Regatta 

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center became a beneficiary of the Tom Collier Memorial Regatta in 1996. The "Regatta for Hope," presented by King Harbor Yacht Club in Redondo Beach, has raised nearly $200,000 since its inception. In 2003, the regatta volunteers met their goal of endowing The King Harbor Yacht Club Tom Collier Memorial Cancer Lab at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Funds raised by the annual event are dedicated to fully funding the laboratory for Phillip Koeffler, MD, director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology (who also holds the Mark Goodson Chair in Oncology Research at CSMC).

Dr. Koeffler's research group is currently exploring molecular causes of breast cancer and novel therapies for the disease, including the use of a derivative from the outer skin of red grapes that has demonstrated a moderately potent anti-breast cancer effect by inhibiting growth and changes in cancer cells.



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Women's Guild

Founded in 1957, Women's Guild is a volunteer group of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, dedicated to supporting patient care programs, research, and education.  Over the years, Women's Guild has grown from a group of 18 friends to over 1,500 members strong, engaging women of many ages, interests, and careers. Women's Guild members have raised more than $50 million for Cedars-Sinai, inspiring innovation that has improved quality of life for patients everywhere.

For over 50 years, Women's Guild has partnered with Cedars-Sinai to fight lung disease, women's heart disease, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and more. In 2007, Women's Guild pledged $20 million to create the Women's Guild Lung Institute, where renowned pulmonary disease surgical, research and medical specialists are combining forces to combat everything from chronic illnesses such as asthma and emphysema to lung cancer.  Women's Guild also continues to support the work of C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, FACC, FAHA, Women's Guild Chair in Women's Health; as well as the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center, a Project of Women's Guild at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, where women can access a full range of the most advanced healthcare services for breast cancer and other breast-related diseases; and other select programs.

 To learn more, visit the Women's Guild website at www.womensguildcs.org.

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