Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Denise Kaley Fund Established for Berkshire County Women with Cancer

March 24, 2010

GREAT BARRINGTON, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation today announced the establishment of the Denise Kaley Fund for Berkshire County Women with Cancer. The fund was established by the late Denise Kaley to support the day to day living expenses of women in financial need with cancer in Berkshire County. In the last months of her life Denise devoted herself to establishing this fund as a way to help other women facing similar challenges. In her long and courageous journey with cancer, Denise was committed to giving her experience meaning by helping other women facing the disease.

Denise was born and raised in Dalton, MA. She attended school in Dalton and was a 1982 graduate of Wahconah Regional High School. She graduated from Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy and the Upleger Institute in Cranial Sacral Therapy. Denise was a born healer and touched many hundreds of lives in her therapy practice. She lived in California for several years and opened her practice in Great Barrington in 1992.

Barbara Bonner, a close friend of Denise’s, helped set up the fund, “during the eighteen months she could not work, she felt blessed to be surrounded by a loving and supportive family and an army of friends. She was very aware that not all women in her situation are so lucky,” she said. “Denise knew that for women without financial resources, cancer can be especially devastating. They need help with the basics of life—paying the mortgage, the heating bill, the babysitter so they can get their chemo treatments. As the end of her life drew near, she was determined to set up a fund that would help these women in Berkshire County.”

The fund will support the day to day living expenses of women with cancer who have financial need in Berkshire County. These expenses may include the costs of transportation, housing, food, utilities, child care, insurance payments and other costs that help the patient heal in a supportive environment or depart this life comfortably with friends and family. The Denise Kaley Fund is in the process of building an endowment, ensuring that Denise’s legacy will help women far into the future. There will be a memorial service for Denise on Sunday April 25th from 2-4 p.m. at Gedney Farm in New Marlborough, MA. For more information or to donate to the Denise Kaley Fund, contact Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation at 413.528.8039 or email info@berkshiretaconic.org.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. Thanks to its generous donors, in 2009 Berkshire Taconic distributed nearly $7 million in scholarships and grants for programs in the arts and education, health and human services, and environmental protection. Berkshire Taconic is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

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