GREENFIELD — Organizers of a fundraiser dedicated to helping women in need are looking back on two decades of service to the community.
Women Helping Women, a fundraiser coordinated by the Hancock Health Foundation (previously known as the Hancock Regional Hospital Foundation) plans its 20th annual event starting at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at Adaggio’s Banquet Hall in Greenfield. The program is focused on taking a look back at patients and physicians who have made a big impact on the community, said Alyson Smith, Hancock Health Foundation manager.
Myra Bleill, who was the director of the Andis Women’s Center when Women Helping Women first started, will return to speak and show a video about the history of the event, Smith said.
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This year’s program will also take the time to remember Mary Lynn Wolfe, a radiologist and foundation board member who died in April in a plane crash in Kalkaska, Michigan. She and her sister had collaborated on a quilt to be auctioned off at the event. Wolfe, who had retired from her position in 2013, had been a dedicated volunteer to Women Helping Women throughout the years, Smith said.
“She talked about how special it was and how excited she was to be able to donate it to Women Helping Women,” Smith recalled. “We will have a brief memorial tribute to her and then auction off the quilt she made and donated.”
Women Helping Women began in 1998 with the creation of the Women’s Health Task Force. The program’s first celebration and fundraiser was planned the next year, and more than $10,000 in donations led to 26 women receiving mammograms.
The event has grown significantly since then, organizers say. Last year’s event raised about $77,000.
This year’s event is already sold out, with more than 400 people who already purchased tickets; but those who wish to be placed on a wait list for seats may call the hospital foundation at 317-468-4177, Smith said.
Organizers hope to beat last year’s total.
The annual fundraiser uses its proceeds to provide medical exams to uninsured and under-insured women in Hancock County, with donations offsetting the cost of mammograms, biopsies, pelvic exams and prostheses for women who have undergone mastectomies. The fundraiser also helps provide education and guidance through the next steps after a cancer diagnosis, officials said.
Every woman at the Andis Women’s Clinic at Hancock Regional Hospital is screened for eligibility in the Women Helping Women program, which is based on income and other factors such as the patient’s need for extensive medical treatments, officials said.
While seats are sold out, there are other ways to help the 20th anniversary fundraiser be a success, Smith said.
The foundation is still accepting donations of gift baskets and other items for its live and silent auctions, and companies or other groups may still become sponsors for the event, she said.
And a raffle for a 2018 Jeep Compass Latitude 4×4, which has been parked at the intersection of State Street and Boyd Avenue for weeks, continues until Oct. 25. Tickets are $25 and the winner receives a 2-year lease from Dellen Automotive. Tickets can be purchased from a committee member or by calling the hospital foundation at 317-468-4177.
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The Hancock Health Foundation is planning its 20th annual Women Helping Women fundraiser.
Organizers are still accepting donations of gifts or gift baskets for the live and silent auctions. Those who wish to donate may call the hospital foundation at 317-468-4177.
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