A $25 million donation made public this week from Orange County philanthropists Julia and George Argyros to the City of Hope will be “transformational” for the cancer center as it expands its footprint in OC, its officials said.
The contribution was announced during a gala held Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, and comes as City of Hope Orange County this summer opened a massive outpatient facility in Irvine and broke ground on an adjacent hospital.
Both facilities are part of City of Hope’s $1 billion expansion into the county, which aims to bring cancer care closer to Orange County residents, some of whom in the past traveled hours each way for treatment at City of Hope’s flagship hospital in Duarte.
Like the tranquil green space that patients can enjoy at the Duarte campus, the “healing garden” recently planted at the new outpatient facility off Barranca Parkway in Irvine will also bear the Argyros name. The space in Irvine is dotted with wishing trees and colorful plants, some of which were planted for their medicinal value.
The couple, who lives in Newport Beach, has donated tens of millions of dollars to various organizations throughout Orange County over the years, including the Segerstrom Center, the Girl Scouts of Orange County, Children’s Hospital of Orange County and more.
They have been City of Hope supporters for four decades, hospital officials said in an announcement of the donation, and their name is “deeply connected to the daily rhythms of the first City of Hope campus near Los Angeles.”
Julia Argyros was honored for her philanthropy during the cancer center’s gala Saturday, which featured a performance by Nick Jonas and brought in another $2.3 million on top of the Argyros’ gift.
In a statement, she said it was “our privilege to give back to the community.”
“We hope that this gift helps people get the care they need,” Argyros said, “and that everyone who walks through the healing gardens at the new cancer center is filled with peace and hope.”
The four-story, 190,000 square-foot outpatient center near the Great Park in Irvine began welcoming its first patients last month. The facility is a place where cancer patients can go for outpatient treatment and clinical trials; cancer diagnosis and research will also be performed there.
It was named the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center after a $50 million gift from the home builder’s charitable arm in 2021.
The adjacent hospital is expected to be ready in 2025. City of Hope has also opened a handful of other clinics in Orange County since 2020.
City of Hope’s CEO Robert Stone in a statement credited the cancer center’s ability to provide world-class care to “visionary supporters like Julia and George Argyros, who empower our scientists and physicians to rapidly discover and develop lifesaving therapies for patients.”
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