Our new name, as of July 15, 2021 will be Red Door Community. This name reflects an evolution of 25 years of free cancer support that we have provided to cancer patients and their families. Gilda’s Club opened the very first Red Door for cancer patients in 1995 in New York City at our Iconic Townhouse in the West Village, which has become a community of support for thousands of people living with cancer. Our Red Door is a symbol of hope, inspiration and community for cancer patients, their families and friends. We will continue to provide that same support to more people impacted by cancer over the next 25 years, and beyond, as Red Door Community. We have a vision for the next 25 years with many new opportunities for our organization to meet the growing needs of anyone and everyone impacted by cancer.

In 2020 we celebrated our 25th Anniversary of supporting, educating and empowering cancer patients and their families in New York City – always free of charge. For the past 25 years we never wavered from what we truly believe – that No One Should Face Cancer Alone. Every year, our membership has grown and every year we continue to reach more New Yorkers who need our free cancer support program.

Gilda Radner coined “It’s Always Something” and at Gilda’s Club it has always been our mantra. We know how to turn every “something” to something better – COVID-19 is just a recent example of the many obstacles we have surmounted in the past. And the silver lining, the “something better” is that during the pandemic year, we reached more people, providing more free cancer support for men, women, teens and children in a wider geographical area, to more underserved communities than we ever dreamed possible.

The next 25 years are filled with many opportunities for our organization to strategically meet the growing needs of New Yorkers and people beyond the New York borders, who are impacted by cancer. Moving forward we want to be more accessible, to more people, in more places, in more ways than ever before. In order to move forward with this vision, we have decided to renew our independence from our partners at the Cancer Support Community Affiliate Network. With this change, we have a new name and new logo, but most importantly, our legacy and our free cancer support program, the foundation of who we are, will never change. This change allows us to honor and build upon the legacy of Gilda’s Club, but revitalizes our mission and better defines our future.

The foundation of our program – support groups, healthy lifestyle workshops, educational lectures and social activities – and the individuals we support – men, women teens and children –will be even more comprehensive, with more programming, and increased accessibility for the members of our community. And it will always be free of charge. We will always have our signature Red Door, and our heart and soul. Most importantly, our goal is to make sure our program is always accessible to everyone and anyone living with cancer – especially the underserved and uninsured. In the coming months you will learn more about these improvements.

Nothing about our program will change. The program and services offered will remain the same, including individual and group support groups, healthy lifestyle workshops, educational lectures and social events for anyone impacted by cancer. We plan to expand the depth and reach of this offering with a focus on reaching multicultural and vulnerable communities who have traditionally faced barriers to accessing support. We will offer our program both virtually and in-person.