January 1 - Friend for Life

Happy New Year!  To all of you who are reading this, I wish you a 2011 filled with happiness, the love of family and friends and most importantly... good HEALTH!   Today's charity is working to connect cancer survivors with newly diagnosed cancer patients.... HOW COOL!  Having several family members who have suffered with Cancer, I know how important it was for them to have someone who could relate to their illness and what they were going through! 

Friend for Life is a non-profit support network of cancer survivors who serve the emotional and psychological needs of persons recently diagnosed with cancer, and their loved ones. These services are offered free of charge.


The purpose behind Friend for Life is to help persons recently diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones navigate the path through diagnosis, treatment and recovery by pairing them with a trained survivor of a similar experience so they can face cancer with someone who's been there. 


Established in 1988, Friend for Life is a network of survivors and co-survivors (caregivers) who serve as trained volunteers, providing one-on-one emotional and psychosocial support to persons recently diagnosed with cancer, and their loved ones. Facing cancer with someone who has been through a similar experience helps restore a sense of stability during a tumultuous time and to navigate the path through diagnosis, treatment and recovery.


Friend for Life matches persons recently diagnosed with any form of cancer as closely as possible with a trained volunteer who has encountered the same type of cancer and similar course of treatment. Wherever possible, they also match for age and gender.

Friend for Life volunteers do not advise or participate in medical decisions, but offer compassionate insights into their own experiences of coping with cancer. They can help you sort through the overwhelming feelings that often accompany a cancer diagnosis. Support is also available for family and friends.




Get Involved:

Donate to Friend for Life.

Become a Friend for Life Volunteer.

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Source:  http://www.friend4life.org/
              

June 23 (Day 115) Gilda's Club

Gilda’s Club is a free social and emotional cancer support community for men, women and children with all types of cancer and their families and friends. Gilda’s Club is the legacy of comedian and former Detroiter, Gilda Radner, who is best known for her work on “Saturday Night Live.”


Gilda Radner is best known as an original cast member of Saturday Night Live. As one of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" she created lovable characters like Rosanne Rosannadanna, Emily Litella and Lisa Loopner.


Gilda's astonishing career was cut short when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986. Joanna Bull, Gilda's cancer psychotherapist, introduced her to cancer support groups. Recognizing how integral the support experience was to her treatment, Gilda's dream was to develop a community where anyone with cancer would receive the kind of support she had found. In her best-selling book It's Always Something, Gilda wrote about her experience living with cancer. She spoke of establishing such a support community in New York when she felt better and said, "There should be a thousand of them."

Gilda's ovarian cancer was diagnosed too late for effective treatment and she died in 1989. Following her death, Gilda's husband, actor and comedian Gene Wilder, Joanna Bull and many of Gilda's friends founded Gilda's Club in her memory. The first Club with its signature red door opened in New York City in June 1995.

Gilda’s Club offers emotional and social support as a supplement to medical treatment. Members meet and share a collective wisdom, which Gilda said helped her regain control of her life and reclaim her gift for laughter.

Gilda’s Club offers weekly wellness groups for anyone living with any type of cancer and weekly family groups for family members and friends. Weekly workshops include art, meditation, guided imagery, creative writing, yoga and much more. Monthly networking groups include supper/lectures and social events. Gilda’s Club also has many groups specific to children and teens and provides supervised childcare while adults attend groups. A library with resource information and Internet access is available for members.



Get Involved:

Make a donation.

If you need assistance or would like to volunteer, Find A Clubhouse near you.




Source:  Gilda's Club