HUGS Help Cancer Patients
Families, businesses and individuals from all across our area helped make this Christmas a little brighter for area cancer patients. By purchasing ornaments for the Tree of Life located at the Toombs Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, our community raised over $4000 to
benefit the Helping Us Give Support (HUGS) program. That dollar amount does not include the numerous in kind donations of time and money that we received from so many caring businesses and individuals in our community that eased the administrative costs of putting together a successful program.
HUGS is a not-for-profit joint program of the Meadows Healthcare Foundation and Leadership Toombs/Montgomery County dedicated to easing the impact of cancer care on local individuals and families.
The program also helps provide transportation to and from chemotherapy for cancer patients who otherwise can’t travel. It helps pay for medications to help control the often exhausting side-effects of chemotherapy. It even helps fund cancer care for the uninsured and cobra payments to help those in-between jobs maintain their insurance coverage during treatment.
“Cancer doesn’t care if someone can afford treatment, or has the means to get to the hospital for chemotherapy,” says Threlkeld. “It doesn’t care about the emotions of those it affects. But, our staff at the Vidalia Regional Cancer Center do. And with our community’s support for HUGS we’re doing
something to make a difference in people’s lives.”
This is evident even in the program’s name. According to Threlkeld, “We like to think of the program as being like a loved one who gives you a hug and slips a little money in your pocket when you need it. Just that little extra can make be the difference between someone getting
treatment and going without. ”
Leadership Toombs/Montgomery County, Meadows Healthcare Foundation, Vidalia Regional Cancer Center extend a very sincere thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s event. “We hope you’ll all join us again next year,” says Threlkeld. “We’ll continue
to support our friends and families as they take on cancer.”
To lean more about the HUGS program, contact Ansley Threlkeld at 912.277.2139.