Gilda's Club Worldwide Appoints New Development Officer to Lead Strategic Fund-Raising Initiatives

NEW YORK, April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Gilda's Club Worldwide, headquarters organization for a network of affiliate Gilda's Clubs located throughout North America, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bobbi Mark, formerly with Mt. Sinai Medical Center, to Senior Vice President of Development.

In this role, Ms. Mark will lead a newly organized development team to design and build a broad-based fund raising program that will include major individual giving, corporate and foundation gifts, direct mail, internet-based fund raising and planned giving, as well as other special projects. These initiatives are part of a five year strategic growth plan to expand the reach and impact of Gilda's Clubs for anyone living with cancer.

Ms. Mark was formerly the VP of Development at The Mt. Sinai Medical Center where she managed a team of 12 capital-giving directors responsible for cultivating communications and donor relations for a $1 billion capital campaign. As a strategist and mentor, Ms. Mark worked with the development directors to identify, refine and prioritize philanthropic opportunities.

Previously, Ms. Mark was Managing Director at the Yale Alumni Fund, raising $20 million in unrestricted current-use annual gifts, and she was the CEO of the Acumen Fund, a 501(c)(3) global philanthropy with an business model seed-funded by the Rockefeller and Cisco Foundations.

"We are delighted to welcome Bobbi to our team," comments Vivien Hoexter, CEO, Gilda's Club Worldwide. "She is a smart, dynamic individual with an innovative, results-oriented approach that will be a terrific asset to our organization."

About Gilda's Club Worldwide

Gilda's Club Worldwide is the headquarters organization for a network of affiliate Gilda's Clubs located throughout North America. The Worldwide staff works with communities around the world to start and sustain Gilda's Clubs and to advocate for the importance of emotional and social support for anyone touched by cancer. Free of charge and nonprofit, Gilda's Clubs offer support and networking groups, lectures, workshops and social events for men, women and children, their families and friends in a nonresidential, homelike setting. For more information about Gilda's Club Worldwide, visit www.gildasclub.org or call 1-888-GILDA-4-U.