Two local organizations team up to support cancer patients

The YMCA of Alaska and Alaska Cancer Partnership have partnered to help care for current or past cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES program will offer services like grocery shopping, prescription pick-up, lawn work, and package delivery to individuals undergoing treatment for cancer, or who have received treatment within the past five years.

The Alaska Cancer Partnership is a group of organizations and individuals working to bring resources and expertise together in an effort to help promote cancer prevention and control in Alaska. Members are made up of healthcare professionals, direct service providers, and educators and seek to offer support for the distribution of cancer-related information. Information here: http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Chronic/Pages/Cancer/partnership/default.aspx#:~:text=The%20Alaska%20Cancer%20Partnership%20is,prevention%20and%20control%20in%20Alaska.

The YMCA of Alaska, housed in two facilities in Anchorage, is part of the nationwide YMCA organization, but are the only two in the state of Alaska. The organization’s mission is to drive local and community-based programming centering on the betterment of the whole person, and the Alaska facilities currently serve more than 5,000 active members. http://www.ymcaalaska.org

If you feel you could benefit from a program such as this or would like to volunteer to help, contact Vickie Leavens at vickie@ymcaalaska.org or 1-907-563-3211, or Erin Widener at erin@ymcaalaska.org or 1-907-563-3211.