|
|
|
|
Learn More
What is Carolinas HealthCare Foundation?
Carolinas HealthCare Foundation serves as the primary point of contact for individual, foundation and corporate charitable support of Carolinas HealthCare System (a self-supporting, public, not-for-profit healthcare provider.) The Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Why should I contribute to Carolinas HealthCare Foundation?
Financial contributions help provide the resources necessary to maintain the highest level of excellence and patient support in our medical programs and services. Your individual acts of generosity help improve the quality of life for people in our region today and into the future.
Philanthropic gifts have always been important to Carolinas HealthCare System. Since its beginnings in 1939, gracious donors have significantly contributed to the growth and success of CHS programs and services.
How will my contribution be used?
Many donors elect to designate a hospital service or program as the recipient of their gift – to a fund that supports ovarian cancer research, or to cardiovascular rehabilitation. A donor may also choose to make an unrestricted gift to the Foundation. At the discretion of the Board of Directors, these gifts are designated for areas where needs are most critical and urgent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Home > Spotlight > Cancer > His wife’s final wish
Martin Kreshon remembers the conversation well – one of the last talks he had with his wife, Jerri.
Just three weeks earlier, doctors had diagnosed Jerri with Stage IV melanoma. They both knew time was running short.
In the living room of the house they built for their retirement, they talked about the disease, which had spread quickly and grown tumors in Jerri’s chest and brain.
He recalls what his wife said to him: “If you can save one human being from dying of melanoma, please do it for me.” He told her he would.
Jerri passed away about a week later. She was 75. His 5’2” dynamo, the mother of his eight children, his wife of 53 years, was gone.
After Jerri’s death, in June 2005, Martin and his family began brainstorming ways to fulfill her final wish. Their thoughts immediately turned to golf.
Jerri was a big golfer. When she was pregnant with her first child, she told Martin: “When I have this baby, I’m going to start playing golf.” And she did. That was 1958.
Decades later, she was a member of the “Eighteen Holers” – a group of ladies at Carmel Country Club who golfed at least once a week, plus tournaments. A golf fundraiser seemed like a natural way to honor her life and to raise awareness and money to fight melanoma.
The following June, in collaboration with Carolinas HealthCare Foundation, Martin and his family and others interested in the cause launched the “Save Your Skin Melanoma Awareness Golf Classic.”
Of course, since exposure to the sun is a major cause of melanoma, organizers were sure to encourage participants to wear appropriate clothing, hats, sunglasses and sunscreen.
The fund-raiser brought in $36,000 in its first year. In its first five years, it raised more than $250,000. The tournament is held every June, and it’s open to any golfer. It also offers sponsorship opportunities.
The money goes toward the Carolinas Melanoma & Immunotherapy Fund, which supports research and education programs to advance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of melanoma.
One accomplishment that Martin is particularly proud of is a 15-minute video that the fund produced. It was sent to junior high and high school students to warn them of the dangers of prolonged exposure to the sun.
That, he thinks, could help save lives – just as his wife urged him to.
“We wanted to do some good,” Martin says, “and I think we have.”
About Melanoma
Melanoma, the most serious cancer of the skin, is diagnosed in more than 50,000 people each year. Although melanomas make up only 4 percent of all skin cancers, they are much more serious because of their ability to travel to other parts of the body. Melanomas are found frequently between the shoulders and hips on men, and on the lower legs on women. The good news is that, if found in the early stages, most melanomas are curable. Prevention is the best defense against this disease.
About the Carolinas Melanoma & Immunotherapy Fund
Donations to the fund support research and education programs designed to advance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of melanoma. A chief focus of the fund is on advancing research in the area of immunotherapy, one of the only effective treatments for metastatic melanoma and certain related cancers.
|
|
|
|
