Rihanna & DMC to Perform at First Annual Links for Life Gala At Capitale to Benefit DKMS

Evan Handler and Sarah Jessica Parker to attend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. March 22, 2007. On Tuesday, May 8, 2007 DKMS (the German Bone Marrow Donor Center) and The Bone Marrow Foundation will come together for the first annual Links for Life Gala, to be held at the popular event venue, Capitale. Def Jam Records recording artist and global singing sensation, Rihanna, is scheduled to perform for the over 400 guests. The black-tie affair begins with a cocktail reception at 6:30pm.

The evening's Masters of Ceremonies will be Golden Globe nominated actor Charles Grodin and Sex and the City Evan Handler. In honor of their ongoing support of these worthy charities, Dr. Sol Barer, Chairman and CEO of Celgene, a major developer of drugs primarily affecting cancer and inflammatory diseases, and Bernd Beetz, CEO of Coty Inc., the world's largest fragrance company, will be recognized as the Gala's Guests of Honor. Honorary Gala Chairman Peter Harf, Benefit Committee Co-Chair Christine Schwarzman, and Benefit Committee member Cornelia Guest will be among the prestigious list of guests.

We are looking forward to our first Gala and are thrilled with the enormous support we are receiving. DKMS has three humanitarian goals; saving lives, providing hope and finding donor matches that lead to happy endings. More than 30,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year with life-threatening blood diseases, such as leukemia and lymphoma.  Leukemia is the most common cancer among children and adolescents. The goal of this event is to raise funds and awareness for these very important causes,” states Katharina Harf, Executive Vice President, DKMS.

Through Links for Life, DKMS and The Bone Marrow Foundation will raise the necessary funds to help cancer patients suffering from leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Hodgkins disease, multiple myeloma and aplastic anemia.

DKMS (stands for Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei or German Bone Marrow Donor Center), founded by Peter Harf, has facilitated more than 10,000 transplants and is the world’s largest non-profit stem cell donor center with more than 1.5 million registered donors.  The Bone Marrow Foundation is devoted to improving the quality of life for thousands of bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients and their families by providing direct financial aid, comprehensive educational materials and emotional support. For more information about these charities visit: www.dkmsamericas.org and www.bonemarrow.org.

View photos from the Event on our Flickr page.