Ed Smith spoke with Holly Dutcher, the Executive Director at C.U.R.E Childhood Cancer Association in Rochester.
-She spoke about their mission which is to improve the lives of those dealing with cancer and their family members.
-Holly talked about how they provide education, social, emotional and financial support to them.
-She went through the process of how families are referred to them by the staff at Golisano Children’s Hospital.
-She explained that these services are provided at no cost and so the generous support of the community is important and is what makes it possible.
-Holly said they have a program called C.U.R.E Ambassadors where anyone in the community can make a monthly donation, even just $1 a month to support the organization. In return they try to show appreciation to their Ambassadors with special tokens of appreciation and by demonstrating the impact their donation has on families.
-She talked about the 5K Run and Fun Walk they are doing on April 27th.
-She encouraged people to sign up, you can participate as an individual to create a team.
– Holly said they have a goal of $70,000 which is more than in years past but they want to be able to expand a few programs like also providing support to grandparents of children with cancer. That was identified as a need in the community.
-Holly said they only have 4 staff members so they rely heavily on volunteers to make their events and day to day operation successful. They are always looking for more volunteers.
-She talked about a paid position they have as a parent advocate at Golisano Children’s Hospital. They are looking for someone who has had a child with cancer to work in this role.