Cooper Health gala raises record $3.5M

Listen to this article

At its 12th annual Red Hot Gala in Camden, officials announced the event raised a record $3.5 million for The Cooper Foundation – the philanthropic arm of Cooper University Health Care. 

Hosted at the Triad1828 Centre, the event drew more than 900 guests and was dedicated to the late Michael Hartung, CEO of Cherry Hill Imports Auto Group and an advocate for children’s health care. Hartung was the first vice chair of The Cooper Foundation. 

“Just as Michael’s legacy was about giving of himself to others, our Foundation supporters demonstrate that same unwavering generosity as partners in Cooper’s mission to serve the people of this region,” Philip Norcross, chairman of The Cooper Foundation, said in a statement. 

This year marks significant milestones for Cooper University Health Care. Not only is it celebrating its 135th anniversary, but it also recently announced a $2 billion expansion in Camden. 

“It is thanks to the generous support of individuals who come to the Gala and support the Foundation, like our longtime friends Michael Hartung and Dennis DiFlorio, that has helped propel Cooper to be the leading academic health system in the region and in building its future,” said George Norcross III, chairman of the board of trustees of Cooper University Health System and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.

DiFlorio was a longtime board member who died earlier this year, a Cooper representative said. 

“As we celebrate Cooper’s 135th anniversary this year, we reflect not only on Cooper’s steadfast commitment to Camden, but also look to the future with our recent announcement of a $2 billion expansion of Cooper’s Health Sciences campus in Camden that will transform Cooper and the community,” added George Norcross. 

The gala took a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, but has still raised more than $20 million since its inception, according to Kevin O’Dowd, co-CEO of Cooper. According to the health system, this year’s $3.5 million tally was the largest amount ever raised at a single charity event in the history of South Jersey.