Ben Affleck Honored at Care & Cure Institute’s 20th Anniversary Gala

Gala raises nearly $2 million to address the pediatric epilepsy workforce shortage and improve access to specialized care for children nationwide

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Care & Cure Institute (C&CI), a national nonprofit working to address the shortage of specialists who diagnose and treat epilepsy in children, honored two-time Academy Award winner and Artists Equity CEO Ben Affleck at its 20th Anniversary Gala last night, at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. The event raised nearly $2 million, celebrating 20 years of expanding access to specialized pediatric epilepsy care and fueling an ambitious goal: growing its national network of specialists from 57 to 100 in five years.

With friends whose lives have been touched by epilepsy, Affleck has a personal connection to the cause. He was honored for his longstanding philanthropic work and commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families. Affleck is CEO of Artists Equity, where Care & Cure Institute co-founder Andrew Gumpert serves as President of Business Affairs & Strategy. Ahead of the gala, he visited UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, where he met with Care & Cure–trained pediatric epileptologists to learn how specialized care is changing outcomes for young patients.

“Epilepsy isn’t abstract to me. I’ve watched people I care about deal with it, and I’ve seen how much it matters when a family can get in front of the right doctor quickly,” said Affleck. “Spending time at UCLA with the physicians doing this work was humbling. These are specialists who chose to dedicate their careers to kids, and the Care & Cure Institute is making sure there are more of them. I’m honored to stand with Mark, Andrew and this community as they bring that model to families across the country.”

“Ben’s willingness to step into this work, to listen to our doctors and help tell this story, means so much as we mark 20 years,” said Andrew Gumpert, co-founder of the Care & Cure Institute. “Thanks to his support and the incredible generosity of everyone in the room, we raised a record amount to help more hospitals train the next generation of pediatric epilepsy specialists. Every fellowship brings more children closer to the expert care they need and the brighter, healthier futures they deserve.”

The 2026 gala, co-chaired by Care & Cure Institute founders Andrew Gumpert and Mark Borman, alongside Nicole Gumpert and Karen Hermelin, supports C&CI’s growing national network of endowed pediatric epilepsy fellowships. With programs at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Los Angeles General Medical Center, C&CI is expanding its reach through a new partnership with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, its sixth hospital partner.

Through permanent endowment funding, C&CI helps leading medical centers train and develop the next generation of pediatric epileptologists, building a sustainable workforce to care for children with complex seizure disorders. The effort addresses a critical shortage of specialists that can leave families waiting months for care, with potential consequences for children’s seizure control, development, and quality of life.

Since its first gala in 2006, C&CI has made significant strides in expanding access to specialized epilepsy care. The Institute has:

Funded 57 pediatric epilepsy fellows
Established six hospital partnerships to sustain pediatric epilepsy fellowships in perpetuity
Trained approximately 62% of California’s pediatric epileptologists
Helped provide specialized care to more than 250,000 children
Helped reduce pediatric epilepsy wait times in Los Angeles from six months to just days

C&CI was founded by Gumpert and Borman, whose children were diagnosed with epilepsy at birth. Despite access to leading medical care, both families struggled to find specialists with the expertise their children needed. What began as a single fundraiser has grown into a national initiative to strengthen the pediatric epilepsy workforce.

Looking ahead, C&CI aims to raise $30 million over the next five years to fund 50 additional pediatric epilepsy fellows, expanding access to specialized care for children and families nationwide.

“Twenty years ago, we set out to make sure no family had to fight as hard as ours did to get care for their child,” said Mark Borman, co-founder of the Care & Cure Institute. “Honoring Ben and expanding our national network in the same year shows how far that vision has come, and how much further we can take it.”

Event details
What: Care & Cure Institute 20th Anniversary Gala
When: Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Where: Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills
Honoree: Ben Affleck, CEO, Artists Equity
Co-chairs: Andrew Gumpert and Mark Borman

Support the mission at careandcure.org.

About the Care & Cure Institute
The Care & Cure Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to ending the shortage of pediatric epileptologists by funding endowed fellowship programs at leading children’s hospitals. Since 2006, C&CI has partnered with academic medical centers to build a permanent pipeline of specialists, expand access to life-changing care, advance research and improve outcomes for children with epilepsy nationwide.

Laura Calliari
Change for Balance
+1 310-941-8780
laura@calliaricomms.com
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