THERE IS HOPE — BECAUSE OF YOU

This year Giving Tuesday is more important than ever. People across the country will come together to show that the spirit of giving and kindness remains strong — even during these difficult times.

And to make an even bigger impact, our friends at Staples have pledged to match every gift City of Hope receives during Giving Tuesday, five times up to $100,000!

When researchers around the world began work on a COVID-19 vaccine, City of Hope had a head start — actually two.

Earlier this year, City of Hope viral immunologist Don J. Diamond, Ph.D., helped develop a vaccine against cytomegalovirus (CMV), a type of herpes virus, that — similar to the coronavirus — can cause pneumonia and other serious complications in patients with weakened immune systems. Now, Dr. Diamond and his team are building upon this earlier research to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

Larry W. Kwak, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of City of Hope's comprehensive cancer center and the Dr. Michael Friedman Professor of Translational Medicine, has already pioneered an innovative new delivery method for a promising lymphoma vaccine. Now he and his team are using the same platform — already approved by the FDA — as the basis for a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

Kwak’s prospective COVID-19 vaccine will work like many others by introducing elements of an infectious microbe to a person’s system so that the body’s natural defenses can recognize and destroy the invader. In this case, his technology deploys DNA from the coronavirus itself.

Using this “naked DNA” means that during development, Dr. Kwak and his team can quickly swap out a variety of genetic sequences to find the one that is most effective. “This is high-throughput,” Kwak said. “Because it’s naked DNA, we can manipulate it very quickly to come up with the best candidate.”

Your Giving Tuesday gift will go five times as far to support work like this, so please contribute now!

City of Hope has made many changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But one thing that couldn’t change was a central part of our mission: providing the very best care to our patients.

That’s why we’ve expanded our telemedicine services and launched Hope Virtual, an online video platform where patients can connect with their City of Hope physicians during this time of physical distancing.

This change has made a difference for countless patients like Harley King, who was among the first to attend appointments remotely through Hope Virtual. Harley is being treated for liver cancer at City of Hope by Daneng Li, M.D., assistant clinical professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research.

Using Hope Virtual, Harley and his wife Hoku can be together (and with their dogs) for his visits and avoid the four-hour drive to City of Hope's campus in Duarte. And they are even able to record the conversations to ensure they didn’t miss any important information.

“My cancer couldn’t wait for this pandemic. City of Hope and Dr. Li gave us a very positive experience during these negative times. And hope is all we have to hold onto.”

— Harley King

Your support makes this work possible — helping ensure that patients like Harley continue to get the care they need, even during a pandemic. And your gift today will go five times as far!

To keep our patients safe during the coronavirus pandemic, City of Hope has made a number of changes around campus. One of the most significant has been a no visitor policy — essential to minimize risk and exposure and protect patients and staff still going to work.

This policy, while important, can be hard on patients. That’s where City of Hope's Activities Department comes in.

The Activities Department has made all the difference for patients like Andrea Carter, who was diagnosed on March 27 with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma. Andrea spent 25 days being treated at City of Hope and said that activity coordinator Rachel Parnass helped get her through when she couldn’t have any visitors.

“I was bored, and Rachel walked in to introduce herself and to see if I needed anything to help pass the time,” Carter said. “She offered me crayons, word puzzles. We played Uno. She was just so sweet and welcoming.”

“It was so fun. I would hear up and down the halls people shouting trivia answers, or ‘B4’, and it really kept me entertained and connected with the others who shared my situation.”

— Andrea Carter

Our mission means we focus on healing not just bodies but also hearts and minds. Your support makes that world-class care possible, and your gift today will make five times the impact.