Shapiros Donate $27M to Support Cancer Care

Once again demonstrating their commitment to improve health care and the fight against cancer, Carl J. and Ruth G. Shapiro in February pledged $27 million to Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center to substantially upgrade and expand facilities for cancer care services.

The Shapiro gift will make possible the renovation of several inpatient units into a state of the art facility for cancer care and surgical services. One Tower floor will feature a new cancer-care pavilion bearing the Shapiro name. A portion of the gift also will underwrite a floor in the new Yawkey Center for Cancer Care and establish a new Shapiro Center for Patients and Families, both at Dana-Farber.

“Carl and Ruth Shapiro’s foresight and generosity will help us meet the challenges of cancer in the 21st century,” said Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, BWH president.

“This is a crucial commitment that will help enable us to provide our patients the most advanced cancer care possible in the most comfortable, modern facilities possible,” said Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, DFCI president.

Carl J. Shapiro is the founder and former chairman of Kay Windsor Inc., a New Bedford-based manufacturer and importer of women’s apparel. He founded Kay Windsor in 1939 and built it into one of the largest companies of its kind in the country before it was acquired by VF Corporation in 1971. The Shapiros, who live in Palm Beach and Boston, are widely known for their extensive support of the regions’ major medical, cultural and educational institutions. In 2005, they made a gift of $25 million to establish the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, scheduled to open this spring. The Foundation also supports a wide range of community based non-profits focused on improving the lives of the disabled, disadvantaged and disenfranchised.