McKesson's Community Days to Benefit Cancer Patients in Need
More than 11,000 employee volunteers nationwide to help give cancer patients needed items to provide comfort and relief during treatment
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- From October 27 – November 1, 2014, more than 11,000 McKesson employees at more than 170 locations across the U.S. will participate in the 16th Community Days program, an annual company event. During Community Days, employees will gather for large group volunteer projects benefiting the local communities where they live and work. This year, employees nationwide will help create more than 18,000 warm scarves and 36,000 hand-written cards containing comforting messages for cancer patients, which will be included as part of cancer care packages distributed through Giving Comfort, a program of the McKesson Foundation.
Each year, 1.6 million people in the U.S. are newly diagnosed with cancer. Giving Comfort was established to provide cancer patients with care packages, called "Comfort Kits," filled with the most needed and requested items to provide comfort and relief during chemotherapy treatment.
"While the search for a cure continues, patients fighting cancer need our help right now," said Elizabeth Howland, managing director of Giving Comfort. "We surveyed hundreds of cancer patients and oncology professionals and found that small items of comfort can help patients endure tough times. We are hopeful the efforts of McKesson employees nationwide and Giving Comfort's Comfort Kits will help make treatment more bearable for these patients."
Nearly one quarter of people with cancer will exhaust all of their savings as a result of treatment costs, even with insurance. Eleven percent of cancer patients cannot afford food and basic necessities due to treatment costs. Giving Comfort provides relief to these patients through the items included in the Comfort Kits, such as a warm blanket, toiletries, a warm cap, a journal and other frequently requested items.
Through generous donations by individuals and the support of the McKesson Foundation, Comfort Kits are provided to patients in need free-of-charge. One hundred percent of individual donations go directly to purchasing and shipping Comfort Kits to patients. The Kits are delivered into the hands of patients through Giving Comfort's partnerships with organizations in more than 165 locations – such as the American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald Houses and the Mayo Clinic – across 33 states.
In addition to providing donated kits, Giving Comfort provides an e-store that allows individuals to purchase a Comfort Kit online for a friend or loved one, regardless of income, and have the gift sent directly to the recipient's home or hospital room with a personal note enclosed. All of the proceeds from these kit sales go directly back into supporting Giving Comfort's Comfort Kits for low-income patients.
To learn more, please visit www.givingcomfort.org.
About Giving Comfort
This year, more than 1.6 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer. Hundreds of thousands struggle to pay for basic needs, leaving them unable to afford the comfort items that make treatment more bearable. A nonprofit program of the McKesson Foundation, Giving Comfort fights cancer with comfort. It provides patients with Comfort Kits – cancer care packages filled with essential items that help ease the discomfort caused by treatment. Patients in need receive Comfort Kits free-of-charge through a network of Distribution Network Partners, which include hospitals, cancer treatment centers and hospitality houses. Through its e-store, Giving Comfort offers Comfort Kits for sale, with all proceeds going toward Kits for those in need. To learn more, visit www.givingcomfort.org.
About McKesson Foundation
The McKesson Foundation is a healthcare foundation focused on providing funding to organizations that provide non-medical direct services to low-income cancer patients in the U.S. Each year the McKesson Foundation contributes more than $5.5 million to nonprofit organizations working to improve the health of our communities. Over the past three years, the Foundation has matched more than $3.3 million in employee donations to charitable organizations. For more information about the McKesson Foundation, please contact us at [email protected].
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SOURCE Giving Comfort
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