Music icon Gloria Gaynor knows a thing or two about survival. Her hit song, “I Will Survive,” became even more meaningful to her 15 years ago when she was facing down a divorce from her husband and manager, financial hardship, and a high-risk surgery to relieve decades of chronic spinal pain. But even as she struggled to overcome these challenges, Gaynor remained focused on her passion not just for music but also for raising breast cancer awareness and funds for research to end the disease.
“This is a cause so dear to my heart because it impacts women all over the world,” Gaynor said. “Research is the reason we will survive.”
Gaynor first connected with BCRF in 2016 when then-sixth grader Mia Smith of Long Island, NY, held her second annual “Making Cents Out of Breast Cancer” fundraising campaign—a project inspired by her mom, Lisa, who had been treated for breast cancer. Gaynor, a friend of the Smith family, matched donations to BCRF that Mia had collected at school and treated Mia and her schoolmates to a performance of “I Will Survive.”
In 2022, Gaynor was the featured entertainer at BCRF’s annual Boston Hot Pink Party, a fundraising event that honors Boston-based supporters. A record-breaking evening, the event raised more than $2.1 million for breast cancer research which supported BCRF investigators based in New England.
Now, the disco and gospel queen is debuting a new fragrance, Survive, with $5 of every bottle sold going to BCRF. Inspired by her hit song, Survive is a blend of floral and gourmand notes, including golden muguet, cattelya orchid, and water jasmine, with a sweet dry-down of vanilla nectar and liquid amber musk. As a bonus, the first 500 people who order the fragrance will get a hand-autographed keepsake card from Gaynor. To order your bottle, click here.
Gaynor fans also won’t want to miss her inspiring new documentary, Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive, which opens in theaters on February 13 only. The film charts her rise to stardom, her faith in God, and how the many challenges she’s faced have influenced her career.
“All of those struggles make us stronger and help us to get to where we want to be,” Gaynor says in the movie’s trailer. To get tickets for Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive, visit the Fathom Events website.
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