Several months ago, a tall angel walked into our offices by the name of Barry Lazar. Tragically, he had recently lost his wife Rochelle to pancreatic cancer. He found us on the internet and was ready to go into battle mode against a disease that robbed him of his love and a life built over fifty-two years. I took Barry through the Hirshberg Laboratories at UCLA, where he met several researchers who described their current projects, made possible by the support of the Hirshberg Foundation. He was impressed with the amount of work that was being done to advance this disease, but immediately said that the severity of this cancer calls for much more awareness and increased funding. Barry started by presenting us a most generous check to be used exclusively for research. He then mailed more than one hundred letters to his friends and associates promising to match any contributions they made from $200 – $1,000. To date, thanks to Barry’s efforts, over $115,000 has been raised for the Rochelle Lazar Memorial Research Fund.
I am so grateful for Barry’s energy and passion. After twelve years of fighting this battle, I almost gave up trying to get media attention and aiming to solicit the help of celebrities who may want to lend their name to our cause. Barry, entrepreneurial by nature and passionate in spirit, will not let me get complacent and challenges me regularly to insure that we amplify the urgent need of pancreatic cancer research. I feel blessed that he came in our lives.
Barry generously gifted nearly $140,000 over 15 years through the Rochelle Lazar Memorial Research Fund. He remained a dedicated member of the Hirshberg Foundation family and we will continue to honor his legacy of compassion, genrosity and commitment to never give up!
