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On Sunday, March 11, hundreds of individuals from the society, business, and entertainment industries gathered at the Heckmann Estate in Rancho Mirage for a rock and roll themed gala and to celebrate the 29th year of the American Cancer Society’s Annual Desert Spirit. The fundraiser is the Coachella Valley’s leading event to raise money for cancer research. The attendees showed off their rocking styles and bonded under the desert sunset, remembering those who lost their lives to cancers and/or how the disease has affected their lives.

As the largest non-profit and private cancer research organization in the United States, the American Cancer Society has invested more than $4.5 billion since 1946 and these funds have helped save more than 1.5 million lives over the past two decades.

The evening was filled with food, drinks, and dancing. There was also help from La Quinta High School’s student volunteers. La Quinta had over 40 students volunteering from multiple clubs and career pathways. Culinary provided appetizers to the 500 guests alongside a dozen restaurant booths. While the Medical Health Academy, Public Service Academy, and Key Club assisted with parking, registration, the live auction, and silent auction.

As co-chairman, the gala was coordinated by Mr. Webb and his wife. They both became involved with the American Cancer Society because their family had been affected by cancer. “The reason why I got involved with charity events is because Dr. Cook put me to the task. I began volunteering with different organizations, one of them being the American Cancer Society,” Mr. Webb explained. After learning and taking notes from his own volunteer work, he was able to get the school involved.

With this, volunteer opportunities opened up for students and the staff was able to participate as well. As a first time attendee, Dr. Schantz, the LQHS career-technical counseling liaison, thought that the gala “was really neat to go to and great to see all the students so involved. The event was beautiful and they had powerful speakers, so it’s always good when a community can rally around a cause.”

The silent and live auction were held to raise funds to continue supporting cancer research and honoring those who have battled cancer. In previous years, the gala honored Desi Cechin, a young girl from the valley who passed away recently after battling cancer for almost two years. Other honorees included actors Dick Van Patten and Linda Gray, as well as journalist Gloria Greer.

Tears were shed and heartfelt speeches were made, as everyone found comfort within each other. Awards were given to Richard Marx, the Spirit of the Mission Honoree, Shay Moraga, the Celebration of Life Honoree, and Greg Polzin, the Posthumous Celebration of Life Honoree. People cheered for the awardees as they shared their stories and opened up about their struggles.

The night was then filled with a warm glow, as the attendees stood up with their glow sticks, and show everyone why they were there. Whether they had lost a family, a friend, or had been through the struggle themselves, everyone stood in support. The darkness was illuminated by the various colored lights, allowing the people to stand in silence and feeling a connection between one another.  

The gala raised over 200 thousand dollars in funds for the cancer research and with this great accomplishment, one of the speakers, Clint Bell, ended the night with his motivational words, “Here’s to the incredible investment we’ve made in leading the fight for a world without cancer! Someday, someone is going to give the “last dollar” that ends cancer as we know it.”