Source: ShanghaiDaily.com
Author: Marc Karimzadeh

Raising money to fight cancer is very close to Gwyneth Paltrow’s heart – which is why she was happy to become the sixth Oscar-winning actress to champion a major cause, writes Marc Karimzadeh.

Gwyneth Paltrow is painfully familiar with cancer. Her father, Bruce, died of complications from the disease in 2002, and the actress says many of her friends have been diagnosed with cancer. Some are still fighting it.

So Paltrow jumped at the chance when the Entertainment Industry Foundation approached her to become the 2008 ambassador for its annual Key to the Cure campaign in conjunction with Saks Fifth Avenue.

“If there is anything I can do to help raise money, especially with a charity like this, I will,” Paltrow said. “I read about the charity and how aggressively they are trying to find a cure, not only for women’s cancers but also for other cancers. They support people who are coming up with innovative ideas to cure cancer.”

Paltrow added that the initiative will also donate money to the Bruce Paltrow Oral Cancer Fund.

She is the sixth Oscar-winning actress to become the ambassador to the KTTC program. This year, Karl Lagerfeld created a special T-shirt to benefit the initiative.

The 2008 effort also marks a milestone for Saks Fifth Avenue. It’s the 10th anniversary of Saks’ charity shopping event, which, in conjunction with its vendors and partners, has raised more than US$28 million for cancer institutions.

Saks first partnered with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and its Fashion Targets Breast Cancer program in 1999, and in 2003, teamed up with EIF’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund and launched KTTC.

For the past six years, Mercedes-Benz USA also has provided additional financial support to the initiative.

Since 1999, more than 100,000 T-shirts have been sold, with the most successful designed by Diane von Furstenberg and promoted by Hilary Swank, and Juicy Couture with Renee Zellweger.

“I consider KTTC one of the most important fund-raising and charitable activities that we undertake,” said Saks Inc chairman and chief executive officer Stephen I. Sadove.

“We’re committed to supporting the causes we believe in, and cancer and cancer research is at the core of who we are. Eighty-five percent of our customers are women.

“Whether it’s breast cancer or other cancers, it touches so many of us. I lost a sister to breast cancer. It’s important to keep the awareness high, to keep the research going and to find a cure.”

Money raised through this year’s initiative is expected to reach more than 50 organizations, including the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the Nevada Cancer Institute and the Cleveland Clinic.

This year’s shopping weekend will take place on October 16-19 at all 53 full-line Saks stores, 48 Off 5th stores and saks.com. Shoppers will find special items to benefit the cause, including the US$40 Lagerfeld-designed T-shirt, which features two crossed arrows emblazoned on its front, one of which is topped with a heart, and an illustration of the Kaiser himself on the back.

Paltrow, who is pictured wearing the T-shirt in advertisements, said she likes Lagerfeld’s design, particularly because of his self-portrait.

“It doesn’t look like it’s printed,” Paltrow said. “It looks like somebody drew on the shirt, and it’s sweet and cool at the same time.”