Hundreds of women came together in Ventura and Thousand Oaks on Thursday night to support female cancer patients in the county.

The Step Out, Step Up events were held at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks and Pacific View mall in Ventura as part of a joint initiative between the malls' owner Macerich Co. and the Step Up Women's Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls.

"I think women who have cancer are a group which nonprofits tend to forget, because most of the focus is on research and a cure," said Danielle Carrig, the executive director of the Step Up network, which has its head office in Los Angeles.

About 500 people showed up at The Oaks to create Wellness Bags for female cancer patients using donated items such as make-up, lotion, spa treatments, vitamin supplements and jewelry. The bags will be distributed to cancer patients for Mother's Day through The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura, based in Westlake Village, which serves around 2,000 cancer patients a year.

"Pampering! What a great way to say, Hello, stick around, you will recover, here's something to help you and you are not forgotten,' " said Lynn Buchanan, who recently retired to Newbury Park from Seattle. She's also a breast cancer survivor.

"I remember 20 years ago when someone came to my door and had a bag to let me know that my community was supporting me in my recovery," she said. "I can't tell you how great I felt."

Merryl Russell of Newbury Park brought along her 13-year-old daughter, Rachel.

"It's fun knowing that the bag is going to go to someone who's really going to appreciate it," Rache said.

Suzanne Drace, president of The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura, was delighted with the number of people who turned out to help.

"This is women helping women, and I think it's a very strong call for action," Drace said.

At Pacific View mall in Ventura, more than 100 people helped create Wellness Bags for patients at St. John's Cancer Center.

"It was heartwarming," said Alice Love, the mall's senior marketing manager. "You could feel the camaraderie."

The event was publicized as a way to network with other women at the same time as filling bags for cancer patients, but some participants in Thousand Oaks expressed surprise that it wasn't devoted solely to work, and that it included food, wine and socializing.

"I thought it was a great cause, and so I wanted to come down and contribute and do what I can," said Amanda Bland, a 34-year-old mother of two from Thousand Oaks, who lost her mother to cancer. "I have to say, I am surprised that it is more social than contributory, and I would probably feel more comfortable doing it if it was more hands-on, which is why I came."

Bland said she and others were only able to complete one bag each.

"We're trying to be the answer to the new women's movement," Carrig said. "Women are either professionals or juggling families or both. They want to give back but they don't always know how so the Step Up network is built on a model of you give what you can and we want to make it easy and fun for you as well."

The Oaks and the Pacific View malls were two of 65 Macerich-owned malls nationwide that took part in the event Thursday.