For decades, Sandra has worked on causes close to her heart and been recognized with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Medal of Honor, the Albert Einstein Award of Excellence and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In 2000, Sandra was one of three founding Board Members of UNICEF®’s Los Angeles chapter and was given UNICEF’s Special Appointment of Nutrition Emissary in 2015. For a decade, she served as the national spokesperson for the No Kid Hungry campaign and is a dedicated family member to God’s Love We Deliver/Project Angel Food and the Elton John’s AIDS Foundation.
In spring of 2015, Sandra was diagnosed with early stage cancer and publicly documented her story. While going through the decision making process to undergo aggressive treatment and the subsequent extensive complications, Sandra decided to allow unrestricted filming access. Her journey can be seen in the HBO documentary short RX: EARLY DETECTION A CANCER JOURNEY WITH SANDRA LEE. This decision was inspired by her obligation to educate others in taking an active role in their own health care, to provide caregivers with insight and tools for day to day patient care and medical advocacy, while also influencing lawmakers to pass legislation that provide no-cost insurance coverage and increased hours for screening accessibility
Sandra’s open, uncensored communications has been acknowledged with several prestigious honors including Capitol Hill’s Congressional Families Excellence in Cancer Awareness Award, City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award, and The Creative Coalition’s Television Industry Advocacy Award.r.
