Bringing Hope to Cancer Patients

No one wants to feel alone while facing a major struggle, especially something life changing like cancer. But thanks to Ribbon of Hope, a non-profit cancer support ministry based inside Elkhart General, it is making sure cancer patients in Elkhart County have the support they need to get through their difficult journey.

Ribbon of Hope complements the technical side of cancer care by bringing spiritual and emotional encouragement to patients and their family members and caregivers. Started in 1999, it formed a partnership with Elkhart General in 2000 to offer additional support to cancer patients inside and outside the hospital.

Ribbon of Hope receives patient referrals through Elkhart General and other facilities. Ribbon of Hope’s trained volunteers stay busy ensuring patients’ needs are being addressed through monthly phone calls and notes of encouragement.

“We ask them how they are doing spiritually, emotionally and physically,” says Executive Director Loretta Salchert. “We may need to pray with them. We may just need to listen to them. We may need to rake a pile of leaves in a patient’s backyard because the treatment has made them incapable of doing the work. Whatever the need is, we want to help them and for them to know they are loved.”

You, too, can help cancer patients in our area. Ribbon of Hope is holding its annual Holiday Adopt a Family Project. Ribbon of Hope will provide gifts, food items and comfort boxes for 15-20 families currently affected by cancer, including 50 children, as well as 40 senior adults.

Here are two ways you can help:

• Donate towards meat boxes. Each family will receive a meat box ($30 value). Cash donations are needed to purchase them.
• Purchase basic household items from the comfort care item list (toilet paper, dish soap, bath soap, tissue, shampoo, laundry detergent, napkins/paper towels, toothpaste, garbage bags and disinfectant (Lysol, hand sanitizer) and bring them to the Ribbon of Hope office unwrapped. Cash donations will be used to purchase additional items for the boxes. All comfort care items and cash donations need to be in the Ribbon of Hope office, Room 4205 by 4 p.m., December 17.

If you adopted a family, bring wrapped and tagged gifts to Prenatal Classroom (West Wing) between 8 and 10 a.m., December 19. If you need to make other arrangements to bring gifts, please contact the Ribbon of Hope office.

For more information, call 574.389.7379 or visit http://ribbonofhope.org/.