Tequilas Burbank and community advocate Ashley Erikson are marking their 10th year of cancer fundraising with a campaign to raise $15,000 for Providence’s genetics and genomics department at the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center in Burbank.
Running now through October 22, 2026, the campaign builds on more than $62,000 raised over the years from their events. While the October 21 fundraiser dinner is already sold out, the community can still contribute through direct donations, specialty cocktails and mocktails, cancer wrist bands and necklaces and culminating with an all-day dining fundraiser.
This year’s theme, “Some Are Gone, But None Are Forgotten,” reflects the people whose lives inspired the effort and the families it continues to support. For Tequilas owners Patricia and Carlos Rivera, the mission is deeply personal. Earlier fundraising events focused on ovarian cancer, commemorating Patricia’s mother and sister, who lost their lives from ovarian and cervical cancer. Patricia has also lost her father and another sister to cancer.
In the past four years, Patricia Rivera and Erikson have expanded the event’s focus to acknowledge all cancers, responding to the experiences of customers and community members who have faced a diagnosis or lost someone they love. The fundraiser has become an opportunity to bring those families together while supporting cancer services close to home.
The 10th annual event will honor the memory of Julie Franco, whose compassion and commitment inspired the fundraising efforts. Organizers will also remember Nat Rubinfeld and David Ramos, two individuals whose contributions to Burbank left a lasting impact on the community.
The campaign’s beneficiary serves patients through both cancer treatment and support for the challenges that accompany a diagnosis. At the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, services include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation oncology, breast health care, and research and clinical trials.
The center also offers nurse navigation, nutrition counseling, oncology social work, rehabilitation, support groups and a survivorship program. These services help address patients’ needs during treatment and recovery, alongside their medical care. Its clinical genetics and genomics services provide genetic testing, counseling and risk assessment to help people understand hereditary health risks.
For the Riveras and Erikson, supporting genetics and genomics is an important part of the fundraiser’s purpose. Their outreach encourages community members to learn about hereditary cancer and speak with qualified professionals about genetic testing, screening and preventive options when they may be at increased risk.
Erikson brings her own experience to that advocacy. After learning she carried a BRCA2 gene mutation, she underwent a preventive bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction in 2021 to reduce her breast cancer risk, and total hysterectomy in 2024. Her experience gives a personal connection to the program the campaign supports and to the conversations organizers hope to encourage.
The October 21 dinner will include an educational presentation by Aida Akopyan, a board-certified and licensed senior genetic counselor with Providence’s Clinical Genetics and Genomics program. Akopyan is scheduled to discuss common indications for cancer genetic counseling and testing, as well as research opportunities through the genetics program.
The evening will also feature the pink Burbank police cruiser, wrapped in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, for photos, along with face painting. Anyone interested in joining the dinner waitlist can text 818-516-9250.
Attending the dinner, however, is only one way to support this year’s campaign. Direct donations can be made through the Providence fundraising page, allowing anyone to contribute toward the minimal $15,000 goal.
Through October 22, Tequilas is also serving a selection of Hornitos Repo specialty cocktails and mocktails, with 50 percent of proceeds benefiting Providence’s cancer center. The menu includes the Pink Margarita for breast cancer awareness, The Fighter, a teal-colored cocktail for ovarian cancer awareness, the lime-green Tequilas Lucha for lymphoma awareness, and Your Fight is Our Fight, representing all cancers.
An additional opportunity to give takes place throughout the day on October 21. Customers who dine in at any time that day, or order takeout by phone or through the Tequilas Burbank website, can have 20 percent of their bill donated to the cancer center by mentioning the fundraiser. This all-day option allows supporters to participate even without a reservation for the sold-out dinner.
On the outside patio, the campaign also offers a meaningful way to honor the people behind the cause. An Honorary Cancer Curtain Display invites community members to bring text a photograph, of a loved one who is battling or has battled cancer. Tequilas will print and pin the photo to the display. Over one hundred have been pinned brought in, creating a growing tribute to those living with cancer, survivors and those who have died.
Giant flower Cancer decor created by Giant Flowers LA is now on display at Tequilas Burbank and guests are encouraged to take pictures with them and tag them on Instagram at @giantflowersLA. On the day of the dinner fundraiser, guests are also encouraged to also take photo with the Burbank Cancer Awareness vehicle decorated with balloons by Leticia Almaraz. Free face painting will also be available. The suggested dress attire for the Cancer dinner is wearing the color of the cancer one represents.
There are also cancer awareness wristbands and necklaces being sold at Tequilas Burbank right now, with 100% of the proceeds going to the center. Wristbands are $5 and necklaces are $15, just ask the servers to purchase when you come in.
As Tequilas Burbank and Erikson mark their 10th year of fundraising, their goal remains grounded in that connection: honoring loved ones, encouraging education and helping support care for people affected by cancer. With the campaign continuing through October 22, the community has several ways to help turn that purpose into another year of meaningful support. Donate here!
For more information, call 818-516-9250
