Locally funded organization supports Neepawa and area residents touched by cancer
- Details
- Published on Thursday, April 10, 2014
By: Kate Jackman-Atkinson
myWestman.ca
For Neepawa and area residents who have been personally touched by cancer, the services provided by Central Plains Cancer Care Service (CPCCS) are a bright spot in a dark time.
Serving 70 communities, CPCCS provides a wide variety of services, including educational programming, counselling services and a popular community driver program.
CPCCS resource coordinator Daisy Dowhy explains that the organization is a non-profit, grassroots organization.
“We are our own entity,” she said, noting that all of the money for the organization is raised and spent locally.
CPCCS provides a variety of programs to cancer patients and their families. One of the more well known services is the community driver program, which takes cancer patients from their home to medical appointments or treatments. Other programs include counselling services, support groups, grief workshops and getaways. They also offer programs for children who have a family member with cancer.
In addition to providing services for area residents with cancer, CPCCS also runs educational programming aimed at students, covering topics such as sun safety, living smoke free, nutrition, the importance of the pelvic exam and testicular self examination awareness.
Some of the programs, the community driver program in particular, are very expensive to run. The driver program pays drivers $0.45/km and only charges patients a flat fee of $25. Dowhy says that most of the patients who use the program would have no way to get to appointments if the service wasn’t available.
“Every program costs money, but the driver program is the most draining,” she said.
CPCCS relies entirely on private donations to fund its programming and unfortunately, last year’s Neepawa canvas didn’t raise munch money. This year’s canvas is currently underway and the organization is looking for support.
“We need people to support our major fundraiser,” said Dowhy.
Anyone who missed the door-to-door canvasser should have been left with a blue pamphlet outlining the organization and ways to donate.
In addition to the canvas, CPCCS will be hosting a fashion show in Neepawa to raise money for the organization’s programs. The fashion show will be held the evening of Thursday, May 29 at the Yellowhead Centre in Neepawa. The event will once again feature cancer patients and survivors modelling fashions from three local retailers.
For more information about CPCCS programs or to make a donation, please call 204-857-6110 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
