MARG THE PHILANTHROPIST
Marg Helgenberger is a celebrity who uses her fame to help others. In spite of her very busy schedule, she always manages to make time for charities that are close to her heart. She has been an active participant in a variety of charities over the years, but her primary focus has always been breast cancer. Her mother, Kay Helgenberger Snyder, is a long-time breast cancer survivor, and so Marg is especially committed to the fight against that disease because she has seen firsthand how devastating it can be.
Marg and Alan’s Celebrity Weekend
Marg’s commitment to the fight against breast cancer started at the community level many years ago when she and her husband, Alan Rosenberg, began hosting ‘Marg and Alan’s Celebrity Weekend,’ an annual event designed to both raise money for breast cancer research and celebrate those who have beaten the disease. Activities over the years have included a celebrity golf tournament, poker tournament, silent auctions, and a brunch to honor breast cancer survivors.
The brunch has always been one of the highlights of the weekend for Marg:
“It’s remarkable,” says Helgenberger. “There are women there who have lived 40 years after being diagnosed and those in the throes of chemotherapy. At the brunch a couple of years ago, I ran into a girl I used to babysit for as a kid. She was only 32.”
“It makes it all worth it,” she adds. “Being in that room has an enormous effect on people coming to terms with cancer. There’s nothing like being with hundreds of women who have beaten the disease. That’s what’s so beautiful. You can see the healing effect.” (Golf for Women, 2003)
Proceeds from Marg and Alan’s Celebrity Weekend benefited the cancer centers at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs and Methodist Hospital in nearby Omaha. This was Marg’s way of giving back to the community that helped her mother battle the disease.
In addition to hosting her own charity event, the list of charity events Marg has participated in over the years is quite impressive. Many are specifically associated with the fight against breast cancer, but Marg is also very committed to many charities that serve children.
In 2011, she was honored by Prevention Magazine as a ‘Hollywood Hero’ on behalf of The Race to Erase MS, a cause that is of importance to her because of her father’s battle with Multiple Sclerosis.