Clark County Local Cancer Fund Provides Comfort, Support for Neighbors Facing Cancer

By Emily Bontrager

A cancer diagnosis can change life in an instant. Along with the fear, appointments and uncertainty, families often face the added stress of travel expenses, prescriptions and the many unexpected costs that come with treatment.

For Clark County residents, the Clark County Local Cancer Fund Inc. has been one steady source of help, comfort and encouragement for more than four decades.

The fund was established in 1985 with startup money from the Wiley Pollock Estate, which was designated to help Clark County residents diagnosed with cancer. In 1987, it became a not-for-profit corporation, guided by a charter board that included Leona Maggart, Marjorie Summers, Janet Nixon, Barbara Jenkins and Patricia Suter.

Since then, the fund has quietly helped hundreds of local people during some of the hardest days of their lives.

In the early years, assistance often helped with prescriptions, home medical equipment and gas vouchers. Today, travel remains one of the greatest needs. Many patients must make repeated trips for radiation, chemotherapy, appointments or follow-up care in Quincy, Hannibal, Columbia, St. Louis, Iowa City, Chicago and other locations.

To help ease that burden, the fund works with the Clark County Health Department to provide gas cards to local cancer patients.

“Right now, there’s a $700 limit per year per person,” said Kim Daniel, current board president.

“You have to be a Clark County resident and have cancer. Those are the prerequisites, and it’s for people right here,” said Terri Brewer, board treasurer.

Gas cards, usually ranging from $25 to $100 depending on travel distance, are available through the health department and are issued as Casey’s or Ayerco cards. For families already carrying so much, that help can mean one less thing to worry about.

“When you have cancer, you have gas expenses, and this is just a good general help,” Brewer said. “People are so appreciative of it.”

Brewer, who has served on the board since 2014, and Daniel, who joined in 2017, both became involved because of personal connections and a desire to help their neighbors.

“I was involved in Relay for Life, but they are two different organizations,” Brewer explained. “The American Cancer Society is nationwide and about research. We’re local, and people know us, and we do the gas cards.”

“My mom was on the board forever, so I’ve known about the local cancer fund forever,” Daniel said. “A lot of people don’t realize they’re two separate things.”

Each year, the fund typically assists 25 to 30 local individuals, although Brewer and Daniel believe there are more people who could benefit.

“It’s not based on your income,” Daniel said. “If you’re a Clark County resident, you qualify. There are people who have cancer who do not contact us.”

For Brewer and Daniel, one of the most touching parts of the work is seeing how generosity continues to move through the community. Some recipients, once they no longer need assistance, return unused gas cards so they can help someone else.

“If they go into remission, or if a family member passes away, those families will bring the cards back to the health department so someone else can use them,” Brewer said.

The board does not conduct its own fundraisers. Instead, it relies on donations, memorials and fundraisers organized by individuals, churches, school groups and community members.

The Clark County Lady Indians basketball and softball teams have supported the fund since 2011, when Kelly Campbell started the annual Pink-Out T-shirt fundraiser, which continues today.

“Lesia Hunziker is a cancer survivor, and she’s had two or three T-shirt fundraisers, and that always explodes,” Brewer said.

Peaksville Christian Church has also been a generous supporter. So have individuals such as Jerry Redding and his friends, who have hosted food stands during community events, and Robin Logsdon, who raised money by making bracelets. Many others have found their own ways to give.

For Brewer and Daniel, serving on the board is simply one way to care for their community.

“I have the time, and I care,” Brewer said. “I don’t even give it a second thought. I just do it.”

“It’s something I can do and still be able to work and give continuously,” Daniel said. “This is a year-long commitment that’s never ending.”

The work is practical, but it is also deeply personal.

“Our whole board understands and we feel for the people. It’s an emotional time. It’s expensive, and it’s awful to go through,” Brewer said.

“If we can make their life less stressful in one tiny way, this is one way to do it,” Daniel said.

That spirit is at the heart of the Clark County Local Cancer Fund. It is not a large, distant organization. It is local people helping local people, one gas card, one donation and one act of kindness at a time.

“It is a way to give back to the residents of Clark County,” Daniel said.

“This is where we say we’re neighbors helping neighbors,” Brewer said.

Current board members are Kim Daniel, president; Terri Brewer, treasurer; Barbara Brewer, Bonnie Brewer, Twila Harper, Gayla Huckey, Joann Hunziker, Janet Ramsey and Sue Scott.

The Clark County Local Cancer Fund is currently working to obtain 501(c)(3) status. The board welcomes donations, memorials and community-led fundraisers.

Anyone interested in donating, organizing a fundraiser or seeking gas card assistance may contact Kim Daniel at 660-727-2823, Terri Brewer or any board member.

For more than 40 years, the mission has remained simple and deeply meaningful: helping Clark County neighbors face cancer with a little more support, a little less worry and the reminder that they are not alone.