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Walk of Hope set for Oct. 17

This year’s major fundraising effort for the Cancer Support Center will be the Pink-A-Boo Walk on Sunday, Oct. 17. With a Halloween theme, supporters are urged to come in costume. They can choose the one mile or 5K walk. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. at the center, 2028 Elm Road, Homewood.

At the Cancer Support Center, every program and counseling session is free thanks to the support it receives from donors, local businesses, corporations and foundations.

“The Cancer Support Center receives no insurance payments, no co-pays and no large federal or state grants to support our programming,” said Sue Armato, executive director. “Our services are cost-free to participants because of the generous support.”

But COVID-19 nearly ended the center’s long run.

For starters, the Cancer Support Center lost a $50,000 grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation because that organization’s funding efforts were shut down.

“We have partnerships with hospitals that help generate some revenue, of course hospitals were taking care of themselves. So, a lot of our funding streams that are very reliable just evaporated,” Armato said.

When Congress approved the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) in 2020, the Cancer Support Center was awarded two grants.

Programs moved to Zoom online, and PPP “meant we could keep our phone lines open the whole time. We never had to let anybody go. We managed. We cut where we could and managed really, really well,” Armato said. “This year is looking better for us. Now I think people are feeling more confident” so there will be much to celebrate at the walk.

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