Barbara MacKay Vinson had no previous experience with major fundraising, but the Bob MacKay Memorial Golf tournament in Greensboro, which she established shortly after losing her husband to leukemia, is now in its 19th year. Along with several other fundraising events which Vinson organizes, the tournament has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for blood and marrow transplant research.
In 2003, after gifting $500,000 to Wake Forest School of Medicine, Vinson established the MacKay Foundation for Cancer Research. In December of last year, the volunteer-based foundation crossed the million dollar mark.
Recently, MacKay has begun turning to the arts to help raise additional money for cancer research. Her first concert/fundraiser in the spring of 2010: Bach, Beethoven and Brubeck - An Evening of Music, was held at Christ United Methodist Church in Greensboro, with over 400 people attending.
On that concert, University of North Carolina Greensboro faculty pianist John Salmon was joined by UNCG violin student Taya Ricker.
Both Ricker and Salmon will return for this year’s concert benefitting the MacKay Foundation for Cancer Research. It’s titled Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Razz Ma Jazz, and it’s free to the public with donations welcomed.
