Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

$10,000 Donation to The Jane Lloyd Fund to Help Cancer Patients and Their Families in the Northwest Corner

November 30, 2009

Great Barrington, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announces that Melanie Harmon has donated $10,000 to The Jane Lloyd Fund’s endowment in honor of her beloved friend, Charlene Bethea, who passed away of breast cancer in 2004 at the age of 38. The gift was made public on November 28 at The 4th Annual Snow Moon Dance for The Jane Lloyd Fund at Wake Robin Inn in Lakeville, CT, where the news was met with cheers. Founded in 2005, The Jane Lloyd Fund helps local cancer patients and their families handle day-to-day living expenses as they undergo treatment.

“Over the years of Charlene’s treatment for breast cancer, she was forced to deal with many losses—health, marriage, career, financial security, car, home and most of her belongings,” said Melanie Harmon. “Even family ultimately abandoned her as cancer dragged on and financial pressure mounted. Charlene felt that many of those losses could have been prevented if there had been assistance with two or three car payments, two or three mortgage payments, an electric bill or two. It was her great passion that money from her life insurance be used to provide exactly that type of assistance to other people who were in a situation similar to hers. She felt that no one should lose everything just because he or she had cancer. Sometimes family isn't there or is not in a position to provide the needed level of help.”

“It was such a gift to discover The Jane Lloyd Fund and meet her beautiful family and wonderful friends, who are so committed to the goal of helping people with cancer with their everyday expenses,” said Harmon, who has a home in the area. “Charlene was so passionate about providing this gift of ‘peace of mind’ to people with cancer, because she believed it would allow them to focus on healing and have freedom from worry about finances. She wanted others to have what would have been so helpful to her.” Jane Lloyd’s brother, Jeffery A. Lloyd said, “We are very happy to accept this donation from Melanie in her friend Charlene’s name to help families in the Northwest Corner.”

The Jane Lloyd Fund was founded by the Lloyd family after Jane Lloyd’s death, ending an eight-year battle with cancer. They wanted to respond to the generosity of the community, who helped Jane when she was in need so that others in the community might experience the same sense of well being in their own time of need. The fund was established at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to benefit cancer patients and their families with financial help in the Connecticut towns of Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, Salisbury and Sharon. For more information about the fund, please visit The Jane Lloyd Fund website.

To make a donation, please send contributions to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 271 Main Street, Suite 3, Great Barrington, MA 01230-1972, earmarked for the Jane Lloyd Fund or donate online.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation was founded in Salisbury, CT in 1987. Since that time, Berkshire Taconic has distributed over $10 million to benefit residents of the Northwest Corner of Connecticut through scholarships and grants for programs in the arts and education, health and human services, and environmental protection. Berkshire Taconic is the community foundation for Northwest Litchfield County, CT, Northeast Dutchess County and Columbia County, NY, and Berkshire County, MA, building stronger communities and improving the quality of life for everyone in its region. Berkshire Taconic is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

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