Volunteer Stories

Sally Brotman

Sally has been with Gilda's Club Seattle since before there was a building or any programs or even members; she was there when Gilda's Club was just a dream of Anna Gottlieb's who she'd met when they both were vendors in Pike Place Market.

Being a breast cancer survivor herself and a strong advocate of support groups for people living with cancer, Sally not only came to share Anna's dream, she helped to make it a reality.

She was there in the early days, fundraising and searching for a place to house Gilda's Club Seattle. She was there when Anna first saw 1400 Broadway and learned that the owner only wanted to sell it and when they didn't have the money to buy it. She was also there a year later when a new owner put the building up for lease. They rented it and began to create the kind of place that Anna had first envisioned. "When you walk in you don't feel like you're walking into an institution or a doctor's office. You just feel like you're walking into a nice, cozy place," Sally said. "The fact that it is free is just outstanding."

She's been volunteering here ever since.

Sally modeled in the first Surviving with Style fashion show, the big spring fundraiser. That year, about 300 people attended. "Of course, now if we don't have at least 700 I'm very disappointed," she said. Today she works on the committee that organizes the special event, helping to find the models, plan the menu and organize the seating. "It's not just a luncheon, it's really a show. It's a production," Sally said. "I've had people say 'it just tears my heart.'"

In 2002, Sally was the first recipient of the Gilda's Club Volunteer of the Year award. "I've always been a volunteer. I just feel like part of my being is to give back," she said. "This happens to be something I just believed in and I was able to sink my teeth into it."

Sally didn't have to think long when asked why Gilda's Club is important. When she was going through her own treatment, she depended on a support group at Swedish hospital and she is glad that Gilda's Club offers so many similar groups today.

"I look at people who are going through [cancer] now and my heart just goes out to them -- to see how brave they are. I think that when you have this it does bring you into contact with people you never would have met," she said, noting that she still gets together monthly with the members of her support group from Swedish (they now meet at Gilda's Club).

When asked what her favorite thing about Gilda's Club is, she paused. "My favorite thing is Anna," she said, laughing and then adds, "the entity itself. It's such a welcoming place. When I descend the staircase, I feel like Scarlet."