For the first time, the HERS Breast Cancer Foundation’s People With Purpose Gala will include a password along with registration to get into the venue. That’s because, building on the popularity of last year’s Wild West theme, this year’s gala will turn Sunol’s Casa Bella Event Center into a 1920s speakeasy. (Although it’s the prohibition era, there will be both regular and alcohol-free specialty cocktails.)
To be held May 2, the event will have the classic points: a cocktail hour on the patio where guests can view silent auction baskets donated by local businesses, a three-course dinner, speakers emceed by Heather Holmes of KTVU, audiovisuals by Leonard Ybarra, and a live auction led this year by Marcus D.
New this year, Mission Gold Jazz Band will play during the cocktail hour, starting around 5:30pm. Also, there’s a new elimination game, “Ace of Spades,” where guests will tear cards in half and put one half in a basket. The game will keep going until one card remains.
The cause is the same. With three locations—Fremont, San Leandro, Livermore—HERS provides life-changing care to post-surgical breast cancer patients, fitting women with bras, prosthetics, wigs and lymphedema compression garments. Funds raised at the gala will go toward the assistance program that helps un- and under-insured patients afford the products.
At every gala, there’s a video segment where a patient shares her story. This year is unique, because Marcelle Kozocas is not only a breast cancer survivor, but a HERS employee.
In 2022, Kozocas was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer, a terminal diagnosis. Usually doctors don’t recommend aggressive treatment. But Kozocas chose to get a mastectomy. “They gave me four to five years to live,” says Kozocas. “That was four years ago.”
At first, Kozocas focused on surviving. “When you’re diagnosed with cancer you think, ‘Get it out of me,’” she says. “But you also, in order to do that, lose—I don’t want to call it an appendage, but I always say it’s definitely like an amputation.”
Laid off from her job in 2025, Kozocas realized she didn’t want to go back. “I started looking for something to fill my time,” she says, “and wanted something more meaningful than the tech grind.” She reached out to HERS and started volunteering, first with social media marketing—which was her background—and then providing administrative support to the nonprofit’s breast care specialists.
“They should be focusing on the fittings and doing that,” says Kozocas. “So Shalini [Saxena] and I do breast care support.” In March 2026, Kozocas was officially hired.
The specialists do skilled work. Kozocas explains, “I don’t know if a lot of people really understand how valuable it is to be seen by somebody who understands different shapes and different sizes and can look at you and go, Ok, we have these products that we can try.”
She continues, “A lot of people get emotional in their appointments too. Debra [Shanley, a breast care specialist] gives great hugs. I know this because I broke down in my appointment. I didn’t expect to. I’m just getting a bra! But they ask you about your experience and journey and what you’re looking for…I think a lot of people break down in here, but leave feeling better and empowered, and helped.”
In addition to filming a video for the gala, Kozocas also did an interview—along with HERS executive director Tina Fernandez—for KTVU news. The nerves were real. “I completely blacked out,” said Kozocas. “ When they were done, they were like, ‘Good job!’ I was like, I don’t remember.”
Just as significant are the friends she has made through HERS, such as Susan Portugal, whom she met through one of the nonprofit’s Facebook groups. Portugal was looking for a way to donate her handmade earrings. Now there’s a basket at the Fremont HERS office, and patients can take a pair after their appointments. The earrings will also be a part of the gala’s silent auction.
Kozocas explains that a lot of women come in at the lowest point in their lives. “They’ve gone through chemo, and they don’t have any hair, they don’t have any eyebrows, they don’t have any eyelashes. So earrings, I know for me, I didn’t put that much importance on them until I didn’t have any hair.” (Yes, Kozocas was wearing a pair of the earrings during her interview.)
“People say, ‘We’re all gonna die,’” reflects Kozocas. “But I kinda know a little bit sooner, what that’s gonna be of.” Going forward she wants to continue embracing new opportunities. Although with school-age kids, she can’t get too wild.
“The layoff gave me an opportunity to be open to what’s next,” said Kozocas. “I don’t want to confine myself to that with another nine to five. I want to try new things, I want to do new things, I want to travel. I only have limited time. I’m going to blow through that four-to-five-year mark because I’m doing great.”
It’s possible to support a serious cause, and still keep an attitude of hope—and fun. At People with Purpose, the community comes together with that mindset.
People with Purpose Gala
Saturday, May 2
6 – 9:30pm
Casa Bella Event Center
11984 Main St., Sunol
hersbreastcancerfoundation.org
