Patrick Cory & Simon Kaplan during
their recent tour of the City of Hope Campus
National Home Furnishings Industry’s Northeast event honoree Simon Kaplan, CEO of Value City Furniture NJ and Ashley Home Stores, announced that he is both delighted and in awe of the industry’s overwhelming response to the September 10 Cruise for Hope around Manhattan.
Tickets for the City of Hope fund-raiser supporting the battle against cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases, which will be held on board the spacious Cornucopia, are moving briskly as the reservation deadline approaches.
“I am deeply moved by the difference being made by the extraordinary City of Hope scientists and caregivers in the ways life-threatening diseases are researched and treated,” says Kaplan, who recently toured the City of Hope hospital campus in Los Angeles and met with staff. “Knowing that we can raise a significant amount of money to enhance these efforts and help give families their lives back is humbling and inspiring.”
Chaired by Patrick Cory of Cory Home Delivery, the September 10 gala honoring Kaplan is the Northeast Committee’s inaugural event to raise funds for life-saving research and treatment programs for cancer and other life-threatening diseases at City of Hope, one of only 40 Comprehensive Cancer Centers accredited by the National Cancer Institute.
The Saturday evening cruise will feature a tour of the skyline, dining, dancing, and entertainment, as well as stunning views of lower Manhattan including the first completed sections of the new World Trade
Centers, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island, South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge. The program will include an official memoriam to mark the 10th anniversary of September 11, as well as Mr. Kaplan’s military service. He served in the US Army from 1942 until 1945.
“Honoring Simon and commemorating this enormous event in the life of America will truly bring home City of Hope’s mission to our friends on the East Coast,” says Patrick Cory. “We are all deeply affected by
the work that City of Hope does. There’s no place like it anywhere else in the world.”
For information and reservations, contact Beth Ida Stern at City of Hope, bstern@coh.org,
626-560-9432 or visit http://bit.ly/kh1zNH
About City of Hope - City of Hope is a leading research, treatment and education center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest recognize bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, City of Hope's research and treatment protocols advance care throughout the nation. City of Hope is located in Duarte, California, just northeast of Los Angeles, and is ranked one of “America’s Best Hospitals” in cancer and urology by U.S.News & World Report. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a pioneer in the fields of bone marrow transplantation and genetics. For more information, visit www.cityofhope.org or follow City of Hope on facebook, twitter, youtube or flickr.
About Simon Kaplan - In 1971, Simon Kaplan founded Crest Furniture Inc., dba Value City Furniture, and quickly expanded it from a single retail store to seven retail locations and four Ashley Home Stores. Kaplan is also president of Furniture Marketing Group (FMG) and helped increase membership and expand it as one of the largest volume furniture-buying cooperatives in the nation for a combined retail annual volume exceeding $2.5 billion. In 2000, Kaplan participated in an initiative through FMG to raise more than $80,000 to support High Point University.
In 1998, Kaplan was honored by the Metropolitan Furnishings Association of New Jersey. In 2000, he was honored by FMG for his leadership. In 2005, he was named “Man of the Year” by the Greater New York Home Furnishings Association, and in 2002, he received the “Greatest Employer Award” from his own team of associates. Kaplan actively supports numerous charities in his community. As a World War II veteran, he has remained true to his core values throughout his personal and professional life: honor, loyalty, truthfulness, commitment and dedication.
About Cory Home Delivery - One of the oldest and largest specialized home delivery carriers in America, Cory Home Delivery, founded by Joseph Cory in 1934, today is in its third generation of family management and ownership. Based in Secaucus, New Jersey, the company serves many of the top 100 furniture, appliance, and electronics retailers in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The company dispatches a modern fleet of 500 customized vehicles daily delivering more than $2.1 billion of consumer products to more than 1.6 million consumers annually. For more information, call Patrick Cory at 201-795-1000, or visit corycompanies.com.