Jennifer Diamond Cancer Research Library

"The second Jennifer Diamond Cancer Research Library, funded in part by proceeds from The Jennifer Diamond Foundation's 2nd Annual Celebrity Sailboat Regatta and Gala Dinner, opened its doors at 10am on Tuesday morning, November 16, 2004 at Gilda's Club - Desert Cities, a 10,000 square foot facility, located 5 miles northeast of Palm Springs in Cathedral City, CA.

In 1991, actor/comedian Gene Wilder and psychotherapist, Joanna Bull, founded Gilda's Club, which is named in honor of Gene's late wife, comedian Gilda Radner, who passed away from ovarian cancer. At
the time, Gene and Joanna's mission was to create a free community where men, women and children
with all types of cancer and their families and friends could enhance the quality of their lives through social and emotional support, networking and education. Today, their mission remains the same.

While modeled after the first library, which opened in October 2003 at The Wellness Community in
Westlake Village, this library has a completely different feel to it. The atmosphere and decor greatly reflects the peacefulness of the Southern California desert. Alice Diamond states, "The library is so beautiful and serene. It will offer cancer patients and their loved ones a comfortable and peaceful place to go, to obtain
the information that is so important during their journey with cancer." Two state-of-the-art Apple computers and monitors provide easy Internet access; a wide variety of medical textbooks with information on all types of cancer and cancer therapies fill the bookshelves, as well as educational and inspirational information in books and on CD-Rom and videos. A printer/copier is available for those who may want to take the information home with them to look over again at a later time. Although the library is located at Gilda's Club,
it is open to the public.

It was after an early visit in 2004 to the future home of Gilda's Club and subsequent meeting with Paula Kennedy, Executive Director of Gilda's Club, that Harvey and Alice Diamond made the decision that Gilda's Club was the ideal site for the second Jennifer Diamond Cancer Research Library. At the time, the facility was still under heavy construction but the vision was clear. Harvey said, "One of the primary goals of The Jennifer Diamond Foundation is to place libraries in various parts of California and then, hopefully, move
on to the east coast. Gilda's Club and Cathedral City fit in well within our goals. It also helped that the
people associated with Gilda's Club had their act together and their plan and enthusiasm was very
apparent to both Alice and myself. The decision to come out to the desert and to Gilda's Club was the right move, at the right time, for The Jennifer Diamond foundation."

The mission of The Jennifer Diamond Foundation, which was created in 2002, days before the passing of Harvey and Alice Diamond's daughter, Jennifer, from appendiceal carcinoma (cancer of the appendix), is to help people win the fight against all forms of cancer. Focusing on empowering people with knowledge, as well as supporting research and healing programs that provide the tools to help treat the mind and body as one.

Keeping in mind with the mission of The Jennifer Diamond Foundation, art programs and art therapy classes have been funded this past year. A music therapy program is in the works and of course, more libraries are planned. The third Jennifer Diamond Cancer Research Library is scheduled to open
sometime in late February/early March at WeSpark Cancer Support Center in Sherman Oaks. Additional libraries that are scheduled to open in 2005 include: St. John's Hospital in Camarillo and The Wellness Community in Santa Monica.

If you are in the Palm Springs area, we encourage you to take that five-mile drive northeast and stop in to
see The Jennifer Diamond Cancer Research Library, take a tour of Gilda's Club Desert Cities and enjoy the peace and serenity the facility has to offer."