rent Car repair. Gas money. Dental care. Tax fees. Home heating costs. Child care. Pet care. Acupuncture.
These are just a few of the needs that the Leelanau County Cancer Foundation (LCCF) has helped patients and families pay for in the eight years since the organization was formed. Although it’s one of Leelanau County’s less visible and lesser-known nonprofits, the organization has helped 141 local families and paid out more than a quarter of a million dollars in grant payments since 2016. And in 2024, LCCF has big things on tap , with the aim of expanding its reach and taking its impact to the highest level.
LCCF was formed in 2016, though Board Chair Terry Gremel said the organization was operating before that “under someone else’s 501c3 banner.” Since becoming its own nonprofit entity, LCCF has pursued a sincere yet ambitious mission: “To help improve the quality of life for Leelanau County residents and their families affected by cancer.” Specifically, the organization helps local cancer patients and their families bear the burden of any non-medical expenses that may become less manageable due to a cancer diagnosis.
“We help pay for things like rent, mortgage insurance, new tires for your car, car repairs,” Gremel said. “What we’re trying to do is be really specific about what each individual needs. We had a woman a few years ago who had enamel come off her teeth because of chemotherapy — that’s a really rare side effect — and we paid for some dental work for her. We had another woman who was going through chemotherapy and was going to have to be in the hospital for a long time. We paid for her dog’s care while she was in the hospital.”
The needs are changing, Gremel said, in part because cancer is such an expensive disease to treat. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the average financial burden per patient for cancer patients is $43,516 for initial care, $5,516 for continuing care, and $109,727 in the last year of life. Those costs go up or down depending on the type of cancer, and a patient’s liability can also run a huge range depending on what their health insurance coverage looks like.
The problem isn’t just medical costs, either: Cancer patients also often face hardships related to travel and transportation costs, lost wages, and basic needs like housing and food. According to statistics, cancer patients are 2.5 times more likely than the average person to declare bankruptcy, and those who do so are 80 percent more likely to die from cancer than patients who do not.
According to Gremel, these types of issues can be particularly pronounced in places like Leelanau County. Despite the county’s wealth, it also has a very large ALICE population. A metric created by the United Way, ALICE stands for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed” and refers to households “that earn more than the federal poverty level, but not enough to afford an empty budget of the household.” ALICE households are often just one major emergency expense away from being unable to afford housing, utilities, food, or other basic needs. Based on the latest United Way numbers, 46 percent of Leelanau households live below the ALICE threshold.
LCCF helps families pay for some of the burdens they face in the midst of a cancer battle, in hopes of avoiding the potentially devastating financial implications of the disease. Gremel said the organization was born thanks to Diane Pare’, who many years ago created a fundraiser called “Leelanau La-TEA-Da High Tea” to start raising money for families with cancer in the community.
“[Diane] found out about another county in Michigan that was doing this type of fundraising for families with cancer,” Gremel said. “So, he rallied a group of people from the community and put together they’re for La-TEA-Da’s first fundraiser, which is this big, fancy English high tea party we have every year.” That event, which takes place annually on the third Thursday in June, used to be a major fundraiser for the LCCF, regularly drawing 150 or more participants.
Through the tea and other fundraising channels – including independent donations from local residents and charitable grants from organizations such as the Leelanau Township Community Foundation, the Les and Ann Biederman Foundation, The Art and Mary Schmuckal Family Foundation, and Cherryland Electric’s Cherryland Cares program – LCCF is able to donate tens of thousands of dollars to local cancer patients each year.
Hoping to grow that impact in 2024, LCCF is introducing an even more ambitious fundraiser this year, called “Gala of Grace: Compassion for Families with Cancer.” Scheduled for Tuesday, June 26, the gala will run from 6-8pm at French Valley Vineyard in Cedar and will include live music, live and silent auctions, food and drinks, and more. Gremel said tickets will sell out soon and encourages those interested in attending to keep an eye on the LCCF Facebook page.
Because of the structure of the LCCF, Gremel said the Leelanau Ticker that nearly every dollar raised by the nonprofit ends up giving back to the community in the form of gifts to patients and families.
“We really don’t have any overhead,” he said. “We are all volunteers, and our only real expenses are for stamps, paper, and ink for the donor letters we send out. People really like that about us, because no thousands of dollars go to the executive director or CEO of an organization. And everything stays local. To be eligible for funds from the LCCF, there are only two criteria: One is that you live in Leelanau County, and the other is that you have cancer. That’s it.”
A retired oncology nurse herself, Gremel is responsible for fielding calls from patients and families who need help. He can be reached at 231-645-2120.
