Hope Lodge Worcester - American Cancer Society

Wish list
The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge
in Worcester is grateful to all those who have
and will continue to respond to our requests
for donations of “wish list” items that enable
the Lodge to have that “home away from
home” feel. Through your generosity, we hope
to obtain the following items:
• Financial support
• Gift cards for local grocery stores,
area restaurants, Target, Walmart, CVS,
and Walgreens
• Paper towels
• Toilet paper
• Dryer sheets
• Postage stamps
• Laundry detergent
• Donation to the Hope Lodge account at
Peterson Oil Company - 508.368.1000
75 Crescent Street, Worcester, MA 01605
Thank you for your continued support.
American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Worcester
7 Oak Street, Worcester, MA 01609-2544
Debra Aharonian, Manager
508.792.2985, debra.aharonian@cancer.org
Third annual Skating for Hope
promises to be bigger than ever
By David McGrath, Hope Lodge Night Manager/Skating for Hope Coordinator
Planning for the third annual Skating for Hope event is in full steam.
While many of the elements remain the same, there are some changes to this
year’s event.
Skating for Hope is moving to the Hart Center at the College of the Holy
Cross. We’re starting at 5 p.m., Friday, September 20, and going the usual 24
hours until 5 p.m., Saturday, September 21.
Although we appreciated all the help from our first venue, Buffone Arena,
moving to Holy Cross was an easy decision. Hope Lodge already has a
relationship with the College’s Student Programs for Urban Development
program (SPUD) that sends volunteers to the Lodge every Thursday night to
visit with guests. Holy Cross is also the location of the Relay for Life® that the
Lodge participates in annually. Holy Cross students have a great reputation
for rallying around fundraising events, and we’re looking forward to keeping
this tradition going.
Some aspects of this year’s Skating for Hope will remain the same. There
will be no shortage of hockey games. We will be having a college alumni
game at 7 p.m. on Friday, a St. John’s High vs. Westboro High alumni game at
10 p.m. Friday, and open hockey for anyone from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. We’re adding two more games this year: a youth game from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday
and a game featuring the Worcester Fire Department and the Worcester
Police Department at 3 p.m. Saturday.
We’re also hoping that 15-40.org; actor Paul D’Amato; members of the 501st
Star Wars Garrison; the Worcester Sharks’ mascot, Finz; the Boston Bruins’
mascot, Blades; and the Bruins Ice Girls can make it to the event this year.
We’ll also have a lot of great raffle prizes, including a hockey stick autographed by Tuukka Rask and the Bruins defensemen, and a bubble hockey
game (valued at more than $2,000) donated by Super Chexx.
We’re happy to report that the Hope Lodge guests have been enjoying
the HDTVs that were bought with money raised from last year’s event
(see picture). We’ll be asking the guests what improvements they think
Skating for Hope can bring to the Lodge with the money we raise this year.
For more information, to volunteer, skate, or donate, please visit www.
skatingforhope.org.
Mary Davis, Vice President, Distinguished Giving
508.270.4690, mary.davis@cancer.org
cancer.org/hopelodgeworcester
cancer.org/hopelodgeworcesterdonate
The American Cancer Society saves lives by helping you stay well by preventing cancer or detecting
it early, helping you get well by being there for
you during and after a diagnosis, by finding cures
through groundbreaking discovery and fighting
back through public policy. To learn more about
us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at
800.227.2345 or visit cancer.org.
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Proceeds from last year’s Skating for Hope event were used to furnish Hope
Lodge common areas and guest rooms with new televisions. Among this
year’s raffle prizes will be a bubble hockey game donated by Super Chexx.
cancer.org/hopelodgeworcester
Hope Lodge Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Summer 2013
Hope Lodge News
A home away from home for families facing cancer
Island guest discovers comfort, optimism at Hope Lodge
Worcester is often described as a city
with a small-town feel, and it seems people
from across the New England region have
some connection to the city.
Cassandra Redmond has fond childhood
memories of traveling through the city to
visit her grandparents in the rural town
of Brimfield. Cassandra’s father-in-law, Joe
Redmond, also has a connection to Worcester,
thanks to the time he spent as a student at
the College of the Holy Cross.
Whether you chalk it up to coincidence
or fate, Joe’s recent college reunion changed
Cassandra’s life.
“I live on Martha’s Vineyard, and getting
to Massachusetts General Hospital every
Hope Lodge guest Cassandra Redmond and her husband, Brian (left), and son, Max.
day for treatment wasn’t going to be easy,”
Joe offered to take time away from his reunion last spring to take a tour of Hope
Cassandra said. “My sister worked for a
Lodge Worcester and wasted little time in forming his opinion.
time at the American Cancer Society in
“Joe said, ‘You’re going to love it,’” said Cassandra, who was raised in New Hampshire.
Florida, and she mentioned Hope Lodge®
Cassandra was diagnosed in May 2013 with a brain tumor. She underwent surgery
to me. My family really came together and
at MGH and later began a radiation treatment program at the hospital. She became a
started working on seeing whether Hope
guest at Hope Lodge Worcester in June.
Lodge would be an option for me.”
Cassandra, a former mortgage industry
Family Dinner
professional who works currently as a
In keeping with what has become a tradition at Hope Lodge Worcester, guests and
potter, is no stranger to a frightful diagnosis.
caregivers joined Unum employees Sandy Hubbard and Gina Salmon at dinner in
Twenty-two years ago, she survived a brain
July. Sandy and Gina prepared a home-cooked meal for the guests.
tumor – one that was discovered after
she suffered a seizure during a drive from
Florida to New Hampshire.
“When I had the MRI on the Vineyard,
my doctor sent me home with a disc that
I was to take to a follow-up appointment,”
Cassandra said. “Having been through this
before and with all the frequent checkups,
my husband and I knew something was
wrong just by looking at the image.”
Cassandra’s husband, Brian, has been
a frequent guest at Hope Lodge as well. A
finish carpenter by trade, Brian marvels at
the building’s intricate moldings and overall
craftsmanship.
Continued on page 3
From the desk of the Hope
Lodge Manager
As most anyone who has ever visited Hope
Lodge Worcester will attest, it is truly a home
away from home – no matter the season. During
last winter’s historic snowstorms and the swelter
of the July heat wave, the Lodge remained comfortable, inviting, and safe. In spring, our garden
is a true oasis for guests, caregivers, and staff – a
place to reflect and relax.
As we move toward fall, we’re approaching what
is now one of my favorite days of the year and is
fast becoming a tradition – the annual Making
Strides Against Breast Cancer® walk
of Worcester.
Just as we did for the first two years of the walk’s
existence, on October 20, the Lodge will provide
entertainment, refreshments, tours, and conversation for walkers who pass by our Oak Street home
along the route that begins in nearby Elm Park.
Seeing the wonderful things that happen here
will resonate with the walkers who raise funds for
the American Cancer Society and give a sense of
just how to close to home Hope Lodge is for those
undergoing treatment and their caregivers.
To me, the fall is now a time when we can show
the community firsthand where Hope lives.
Yours in Hope,
Debra Aharonian - Hope Lodge Manager
Looks for Hope fashion show co-emcees Eileen
Grosse and Steve Donovan will host the annual
event, which takes place Thursday, September 26,
at the Manor Restaurant in West Boylston.
Enjoy yourself in good company as Hope Lodge
supporters and area business and civic leaders strut
their stuff on the runway. Clothing provided by
Ike’s Den and Men’s Wearhouse Solomon Pond
Mall For more information, contact Hope Lodge
Worcester at 508.792.2985.
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Ready for its close-up: Lodge will
welcome walkers during ‘Strides’
Hope Lodge, located along the walk route, will have an open house and
refreshments for participants in the American Cancer Society Making
Strides Against Breast Cancer in Worcester walk October 20.
Like many cities and towns across the country, Worcester will host
an American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk
in October.
One of the more popular and impactful events at a Strides walk is the kickoff leading up to the walk during which participants are reminded about the
importance of what they’re doing by hearing from guest speakers – researchers,
caregivers, survivors, and patients.
In Worcester, the powerful words spoken before the walk will be amplified
by the powerful vision the walkers will see not far from the finish line of their
2.5-mile tour around the city’s West Side: the city’s Hope Lodge.
Hope Lodge, located along the route, will be decked out in pink, as it has
been for every year of the walk’s existence, welcoming walkers to stop in and
enjoy refreshments and a quick tour.
“The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Worcester walk has quickly
become one of my favorite days of the year,” Hope Lodge manager Debra
Aharonian said. “It’s a unique opportunity to show supporters of the Society
an example of how important their efforts are in terms of fundraising and
exactly where their donor dollars are used.
It’s clearly a two-way street. “During the first two years of Strides, I’ve seen
walkers’ reaction – at times it’s emotional – when they can really humanize an
aspect of their effort, and the amount of gratitude that our guests and volunteers have when they meet and speak to those who stop by is beyond words.”
The third annual American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast
Cancer in Worcester walk will take place at Elm Park, Sunday, October 20. The
walk begins at 10:30 a.m., with registration starting at 9 a.m. For more information on starting a team or participating, visit www.makingstrideswalk.org.
New Lodge volunteer
drives to give back
After retiring from her career with Fidelity Investments in the beginning of
2013, Shrewsbury resident Melody Davis was simply looking for something to do.
What she found was an activity she describes as “one of the best things I’ve
done in my life.”
Melody, herself a cancer survivor, became a volunteer driver at Hope Lodge
Worcester in March.
She learned of the opportunity during a board meeting for Pink Revolution.
The organization’s chairwoman and founder, Audrey Kurlan-Marcy, relayed
the need for drivers willing to volunteer their time to take Hope Lodge guests
to and from medical appointments.
“I said, ‘Why not?’ ” relates Melody, who had heard plenty about Hope Lodge
but didn’t see the facility until she began training for her role as a driver. “I
wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but I looked at this as an opportunity to
give back.”
One of the first things Melody learned about the job was that driving, while
vitally important, was almost her secondary responsibility.
“I view my role as being the one to take away the stress of the guests getting
to and from daily appointments,” she said. “They have enough stress already,
and their energy is much better spent in healing. I assume their stress when it
comes to transportation and try to reduce it.”
After getting her “assignment” about a week in advance, Melody typically
arrives at Hope Lodge well before the van is scheduled to roll out. Some days,
she drives one guest into Boston. Other days are busier. Take, for example, a
steamy Friday morning in mid-July when Melody’s route included stops at
three different Boston-based hospitals – Massachusetts General Hospital,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Many of the guests at Hope Lodge are not from the
area, and we all know how stressful it can be driving
into Boston even with an idea of where you’re going,”
Melody said. “I had my treatment at UMass Memorial
Medical Center – University Campus, which was a
short drive. I can’t imagine having to deal with the
stress of figuring out transportation.”
Melody enjoys the fact that each trip into Boston
is different, and she often provides guests with an
impromptu history lesson about Boston and other
towns through which the van travels.
“I enjoy it because it makes me feel good to make
them feel good,” she said.
Continued from page 1
“The building is physically home,” Cassandra
said. “To have a kitchen and a refrigerator is such
a small thing that makes a big difference. The
kitchen is like any other family kitchen – a place
to gather and just talk.”
Cassandra contrasted Hope Lodge to other facilities that she described as having a “hospital feel
instead of a comforting, hopeful environment.”
“The fact that each guest and their caregiver
have their own bedroom – one that feels like a
bedroom in your own home – is such a blessing.
Plus, you can keep the door shut and nobody
will realize that it’s kind of a mess,” she said with
a laugh.
Cassandra’s radiation treatments bring her to
MGH multiple times per week, and she uses the
free van service and its stable of dedicated volunteer drivers to provide transportation.
“To not have to worry about getting to an
appointment on time is a big relief that lets you
show up relaxed and with a positive attitude,”
Cassandra said. “The drivers are some of the
kindest people I’ve ever met. One day, I had a
late-day appointment and we were early, so I
got a free guided tour of the city.”
Cassandra has leveraged her outgoing personality in order to become fast friends with fellow
guest and staff.
“I’m always optimistic,” she said. “Hope Lodge
is a place full of positive people, which helps
with remaining optimistic, and that, as much
as anything else, makes a huge difference.”
Cancer survivor and Shrewsbury resident Melody Davis
is spending part of her retirement as a volunteer driver
at Hope Lodge.
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