GREENFIELD — So much has had to be called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while organizers of an annual fundraiser couldn’t throw their usual celebration, they also knew the health needs of uninsured and under-insured women wouldn’t be taking a year off.
So they adapted their approach, and the Hancock Health Foundation’s Women Helping Women fundraiser is going virtual for the first time. For 22 years, the benefit — one of the best-known fundraisers in the county — has provided funding for the Andis Women’s Clinic at Hancock Regional Hospital.
The earlier cancer is detected, the better the chances are of beating it. Improvements in early detection and treatment led to a 40% decline in breast cancer deaths in the United States from 1989 to 2017, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
But many women in the area are struggling to afford those early-detection procedures. The women’s clinic provides mammograms, clinical breast exams, biopsies, bone density screenings and pelvic ultrasounds for those without insurance or who lack enough insurance to cover them. The fundraiser supported 239 patients in 2019.
Women Helping Women funding also supports education, navigation and support services for patients.
The fundraiser runs through Oct. 30, and donations can be made at 2020womenhelpingwomen.causevox.com.
Women Helping Women typically culiminates with a celebration attended by about 400 people for a dinner, speakers and an auction.
Allyson Smith, foundation manager for the Hancock Health Foundation, reflected on how Women Helping Women donors in the past have enjoyed eating a meal, socializing, hearing compelling stories and bidding on auction items in exchange for their contributions.
“But this year, everybody is just giving out of the kindness of their hearts,” she said. “I think people understand organizations need to get creative this year.”
Going virtual allowed for a “Pink Warriors” peer-to-peer fundraising arm of the campaign, which consists of individuals leading fundraising efforts of their own for Women Helping Women. The warriors each have their own pages within the fundraiser’s site, and they can distribute their link on social media and through email to aid in their efforts.
Smith said Women Helping Women has been sharing content on Hancock Health Foundation’s Facebook page, @hancockhealthfoundation, including videos featuring patient and survivor testimonials along with the fundraiser’s past speakers. The page also shares information about the women’s clinic and breast cancer awareness.
The Pink Warriors and social media presence give the fundraiser a wide reach, Smith said.
“It’s neat because this allows us to reach a lot of new people,” she said. “We have a lot of new donors already that we’re seeing… They may not even live in Indiana, but they’re able to donate to the fundraiser because one of these Pink Warriors have asked them to and it’s easy for them to do online.”
As of early Friday, Women Helping Women had raised more than $45,000 from 129 donors. Last year, the benefit raised just over $95,000.
Becky Pohland, coordinator for the women’s clinic, said the fundraiser has grown since it was created two decades ago and with it, the services the clinic is able to provide. Women Helping Women started out solely funding mammograms.
“And as we’ve gotten tremendous response from donors, we’ve been able to add more services,” Pohland said.
Beth Turpin, nurse practitioner for the clinic, said a genetic screening program was added in the past few years for patients with a high risk of getting cancer.
The clinic also serves women living in counties surrounding Hancock County, Pohland and Turpin said.
“If they have a problem, we take them all the way till it’s diagnosed, and then we have places we can refer them after that,” Pohland said. “So we never leave anybody hanging.”
Women Helping Women is especially important this year, Pohland and Turpin said, as the clinic lost one of its major grants that covers about a third of its operating budget.
“Our Women Helping Women program was wonderful,” Pohland said. “They stepped in and said, ‘We’ll get you through this year.'”
Pohland added the clinic is seeking other grants to make up for the loss.
Women’s clinics that provide free services are “few and far between,” Turpin said.
“A lot of our patients are in a lot of bad financial situations,” she said. “…We are the only provider a lot of women see; they don’t go anywhere else because they can’t afford it.”
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In 2019, the following services were provided to patients through the Women Helping Women program:
- 239 women served
- 47 screening services (mammograms and clinical breast exams)
- 41 diagnostic services (including eight biopsies)
- 26 bone density screenings
Source: Women Helping Women
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The annual Women Helping Women campaign runs through Oct. 30. Donate at 2020womenhelpingwomen.causevox.com.
Follow the initiative on Facebook @hancockhealthfoundation and Instagram @hancockregional. Use #2020womenhelpingwomen on social media to spread the word.
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