Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Denise Kaley Fund Launches Major Fundraising Effort to Build Endowment and Fill Gap in Women’s Health Care Needs in Berkshire County

December 13, 2010

SHEFFIELD, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced today that The Denise Kaley Fund for Berkshire County Women with Cancer has launched a major fundraising effort to build its endowment at the foundation. 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: the single mother who needs a baby sitter to get to her chemotherapy appointments, an elderly woman who needs help with her fuel bill in order to afford medical care, or a woman struggling to keep a job and make ends meet while going through treatment. The fund covers the costs of transportation, housing, food, utilities, child care, insurance payments or anything that can help ease the struggles of women with cancer and allow them to focus on healing.

Barbara Bonner, a close friend of Kaley’s said, “Denise was my very close friend and about five weeks before she died, we started talking about her legacy. After she died, the gifts started pouring in. It reached a point that she and I predicted; it moved from honoring Denise to focusing our efforts on the women who need our help. Now, we are really starting to make some noise."

Since Kaley's death, the foundation has received 273 donations, ranging from $5 to $250. Maeve O’Dea, program director at Berkshire Taconic said, "The first goal is to get the endowment started [at $25,000] and we have already reached roughly $14,000, which is more than halfway there. We are hoping to begin grant-making as early as February. It’s a wonderful gift to women in the community who are struggling to make ends meet and battling cancer simultaneously.”

Ruth Blodgett, senior vice president of Berkshire Health Systems, said the fund is filling a need that has long been a problem among cancer patients in the area.

"We do provide clinical care support services and we have patient-care funds for mammograms and colonoscopies," Blodgett said. "But there is still the issue of what cancer can do to your everyday financial situation. This has been a big hole in this community for a long time."

The goal of the fund is to supply funds to women who are living in poverty and struggling with their daily responsibilities as a result of having cancer.

According to Blodgett, there are thousands of women in the area who are affected by cancer. In 2009, at Berkshire Medical Center alone, 369 women were diagnosed with cancer. "This is for the poorest of the poor in our community; the unseen women, many of whom live below the poverty line. Denise would talk to these women in the waiting rooms and she could really see how huge the problem was."

The Denise Kaley Fund is endowed so that its support can continue annually and grow. The fund will work hand-in-hand with social service agencies throughout the county so that support is offered exactly when and where it can do the most good.

For more information, please contact Berkshire Taconic at 413.229.0370, visit the Denise Kaley Fund Facebook page or donate online.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region.

Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

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