How Do We Make a Difference?

We love the fact Nikki Mitchell Foundation has opportunities to plan amazing concerts with big-time talent! You might think we spend all our time producing concerts and an annual golf tournament, right? As our events bring in funds and our revenue grows, so do our expenses. More money coming in means more going out, so more funds mean we are able to increase patient assistance and fund promising research.

On the flip side, sometimes days can be rough in the office.

This week, we took a pancreatic cancer patient client off of our active financial aid roster and moved them to our “closed file.” You can guess what that means…she wasn’t cured, and she fought her disease until she couldn’t fight anymore. This woman was someone we connected with on a personal level, Rhonda spoke with her on the phone and listened to her stories, fears, needs and hopes. She figured out her financial needs and sent her gas and grocery cards, paid co-pays and financed a second opinion at UCLA through our Bridge of Wings program. Rhonda became her cheerleader and supporter.

We then called the first name on our waiting list. The family requested assistance with their mortgage payment. The patient was unable to talk, and his wife was at work, so their 17-year-old son took charge and was organized, thankful, and on top of their needs.

After the first phone call, the realization hit…this teenager should be hanging with his friends, playing sports or just acting like a 17-year-old. Instead, five minutes after hanging up, he emailed us their mortgage information, followed up with a phone call, thanked us and told us to have a blessed day. This kid is having to grow up too fast and take care of things most kids never even think about, like how can house payments be made or what would happen if they lose their home as his dad is suffering from pancreatic cancer.

We keep 40 clients on the active list and 40 times a month, we ask them: what do you need, what can we do to help? As we help our patients and plan our events, we constantly think – what do we do if we run out of funds? What if this event doesn’t bring in enough to support the Bridge of Wings program? The foundation doesn’t just help patients one time and then leave them to figure out finances as their disease worsens. We help these patients every month, as long as they are in need. Forty patients a month is all we are able to financially handle at this time and all we are able to manage with our small office.

How do we do it? How do we make a difference? We do it through YOU, and through our events sponsors, our faithful donors, event attendees and our online auctions. Our mission and goal is bigger than these events, bigger than the foundation, bigger than each individual. It’s about making a difference for this 17-year-old kid who sent his parent’s mortgage information. It’s about helping patients who are fighting this horrific disease. It’s about awareness and finding a cure.

Let’s make the difference in someone’s pancreatic cancer battle and let’s honor Nikki Mitchell while we do this.

Please consider donating today.