NORTHPORT — While many are no strangers to fundraiser walks and medical assistance requests that often follow a devastating cancer diagnosis, there’s one local organization that does things a little bit differently.
The Leelanau County Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit operating independently since 2016, focuses less on the medical side of things, and more on how they can help a person who is battling cancer.
The board of directors, made up of eight volunteers who reside in Leelanau and surrounding areas, is deeply committed to fulfilling the foundation’s mission, which, according to longtime board member and cancer survivor Susan Ager, is to assist “any family in the county who finds cancer in their household and who has to cope with the emotional and physical and financial challenges that cancer poses.”
The LCCF prioritizes accessibility in their assistance, with their grant eligibility only consisting of two simple things — you have to have cancer and you have to live in Leelanau County. These grants aren’t necessarily always contributing to treatment costs or doctor’s bills, but are lifesaving nonetheless.
“We’ve been told that we’ve helped people keep their house or pay their rent when they might have lost their place,” said Ager. “We’ve helped in crucial times.”
Grants from LCCF not only assist people from a financial perspective, but also often serve as a heartwarming signal that the community still exists.
“It reminds people that they’re not alone; that the people who live around them that they see in the grocery store are donating to our foundation and are people who care about them,” Ager said.
Since 2016, the foundation has been able to grant more than a quarter of a million dollars to 150 families going through the different stages of cancer. Their primary sources of funding are local foundations or businesses, such as the Schmuckal and Biederman Foundations, Cherryland Electric, and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, as well as subscribers to the organization who receive their donor letters each year, as well as attendees to their annual fundraising event.
This year the board put on their first “Gala of Grace: Compassion for Families with Cancer” event. Taking place at the end of June, it was held at the French Valley Vineyard and featured live music, a catered dinner, and a silent auction. The gala took place of their previous yearly tradition, the La-Tea-Da High Tea, and was a huge success for its first year, with well over 100 community members in attendance.
Kimberly Creamer, a three-time breast cancer survivor and regular contributor to the foundation, was a featured speaker at the Gala of Grace. She became involved with LCCF after joining Five Star Real Estate in 2020-2021.
“Three or four years ago, I joined a new real estate company, and their colors are green and gray. I wanted to add a color to all my marketing so I decided to do pink and tie it in with tithing 5 percent of all my real estate sales to cancer,” Creamer said, adding that she used to donate to a different organization before learning that too little got to cancer patients.
After this realization, Creamer did some more digging, and found the LCCF, which soon became her new charity of choice.
“They’re impacting a lot of people’s lives in ways that really can vary. It can be giving someone a gas card, it can be paying one of their mortgage payments, or, you know, just helping them anyway that they can. That just felt great to me,” Creamer said. “I would encourage people if they’re tithing or donating to do it locally because it’s just so much more meaningful when you know that you’re helping neighbors and people in your backyard. It makes all the difference.”
Terry Gremel, one of the board members, said that sense of local compassion is what sparked her own interest in contributing to the organization.
“I’m a retired clinical nurse, and I have had a lot of cancer in my own family. I kind of know firsthand what people go through, both from my career and from my own family, so that’s where my primary impetus comes from,” Gremel said.
“Almost everyone [on the board,] has had someone in their family who has had cancer or a friend,” Gremel said. “Or, they learn about us and just want to be part of our organization just because they’re, they’re good people and they’re compassionate about people who might need help.”
Find out more at https://www.leelanaucountycancerfoundation.org/ or contact Terry Gremel at 231-645-2120.