CLEARFIELD – Clearfield County Cancer Support Inc. recently received grant funding from the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation.
According to the foundation, there are times when people can take a negative life situation and make a positive out of it. An example of this is how Clearfield County Cancer Support Inc. came into being.
In 2014, Sonya Greene was getting ready to start a new job on a Monday, but on the immediate Friday before, she had an appointment with her doctor where she received the devastating news that she had Stage 2 breast cancer.
What was a time of exciting optimism for the new job immediately turned into a period of uncertainty and questions of what the future held not only for Sonya, but also for everyone close to her, especially her husband, Mike.
According to the foundation, the couple will tell you that Sonya was able to fight and win her battle because they had a good health insurance plan that provided access to a great team of doctors and a treatment plan that was successful.
But during the process, it also became obvious that undergoing many months of treatment and appointments upset other aspects of their daily lives.
Transportation to medical appointments had to be arranged, personal funds designated for daily costs like utility bills, maintenance on the home, property taxes and other expenses had to be diverted to help deal with the health issues Sonya was dealing with.
And when they inquired around to various agencies, they found there was nothing in Clearfield County that could provide direct assistance to cancer patients for issues that arose outside of the actual medical treatments.
After Sonya successfully completed her treatment, she and Mike turned their efforts and energy towards creating a program to help fill the void for cancer patients.
In 2016, they founded Clearfield County Cancer Support Inc., as a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation to provide assistance and support to cancer patients so they can focus on their treatments rather than worrying about problems that spring up in daily life.
Mike stressed: “There are some misconceptions that we are part of the American Cancer Society and or Relay for Life, but we are a stand-alone organization.
“We operate strictly with volunteers and 95 percent of the funds we raise benefit cancer patients living in Clearfield County with the remaining funds going towards operational costs. Money raised here stays here.”
Mike and Sonya also shared” “We have several ongoing fundraisers including our annual golf tournament scheduled for May 23 at Eagles Ridge, a Cash Bingo held every other month at the Curwensville VFW and new for 2020, we are joining Morris Township Volunteer Fire Department and Clearfield Moose in organizing the Snakefest Musicfest that will be held Saturday, June 20 at the Morris Township Volunteer Fire Department Recreation Center in Morrisdale.
“We are also hosting a Basket Raffle at St. Timothy’s Rec Hall in Curwensville on July 26.”
To help support Clearfield County Cancer Support Inc., the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation recently awarded a $1,000 grant to the organization.
CCCF Executive Director Mark McCracken said: “The support offered by Clearfield County Cancer Support is something unique that other established cancer charities aren’t offering.
“This is an idea brought to life by Sonya and Mike Greene because they lived through the process of battling cancer and saw, first-hand, what was missing in the community support system.
“This is the type of program the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation looks to support with our grant program because it assists people throughout Clearfield County in a time of great need.”
Mike also noted they have several businesses that have been giving ongoing support to the organization.
He said: “Pennsylvania Grain Processing and Wal-Mart Distribution Center have been very generous in their support, Rob Brown of C Classic has been involved in supporting the annual golf tournament and Eagle Haven Computers designed, maintains and hosts our Web site.”
Sonya and Mike concluded: “We appreciate the $1,000 grant from the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation.
“We started Clearfield County Cancer Support Inc. as a way to help and support individuals going through cancer treatment.
“There are other organizations dedicated to research and finding more effective treatment for the future, but our mission is helping individuals now, to get through the daily struggles they face while undergoing cancer treatment.”
For more information on Clearfield County Cancer Support Inc., please visit its Web site at www.clfdccs.org and for more information on the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation visit www.clearfieldcharitablefoundation.org.