Streisand raises $22M for Cedars-Sinai

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LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Singer Barbra Streisand helped raise $22 million for the cardiovascular program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Los Angeles hospital said.

"Barbra has now brought over $22 million to this cause, including her own generous gift of $10 million in matching funds," Dr. Noel Bairey-Merz, director of the program now known as the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Streisand held a fundraiser at her Malibu home in June and has been tireless in securing significant donations from stars such as Ralph Lauren, Ronald Perelman, Sumner Redstone, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, Irwin Jacobs and Haim Saban, as well as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the report said.

"Women need to be educated about female cardiovascular disease, and the medical community must be propelled toward change," Streisand told THR. "Just like with breast cancer, the impetus must come from women themselves striving to become empowered to reduce their risks for heart disease."