SJP shoe sale benefits cancer research

From sparkly stilettos to strappy sandals, there was a shoe for every fashionista among the 5,000 pairs displayed warehouse-style at the SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker sample sale, April 16 at Houston’s Bayou City Event Center. The 10-hour event, where the actress-turned-entrepreneur chatted with shoppers while helping them find the perfect fit, raised more than $300,000 for prostate cancer research at MD Anderson.

Parker hosted the sale along with SJP co-founder and CEO George Malkemus and his partner in life and in business, Tony Yurgaitis, vice president of SJP and a prostate cancer survivor treated at MD Anderson. Malkemus and Yurgaitis are CEO and vice president, respectively, of Manolo Blahnik, maker of the iconic shoes worn by Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex and the City.”

While shoppers snapped up Italian-made shoes along with handbags and trench coats at specially reduced prices, Yurgaitis spoke of his desire to give back to the institution that gave him “a second chance.”

“I’m here because I have a positive story, and I think it’s great that people hear that because there is hope,” says Yurgaitis.

Yurgaitis participated in an immunotherapy clinical trial under the care of Christopher Logothetis, M.D., professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology. Logothetis is co-leader of MD Anderson’s Prostate Cancer Moon Shot®.

“Sarah Jessica has always wanted to do something to give back to MD Anderson for what it did for us,” says Malkemus. “Tony’s life was saved by Dr. Logothetis and the prostate cancer team at MD Anderson.”

In addition to donating the shoes for the sale, Parker, Malkemus and Yurgaitis also contributed approximately 40 pairs of shoes for teenage patients to select to wear at MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital’s Prom Party Palooza, held April 27.