Community connections
Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation Executive Director Angel Ledesma addresses visitors at the annual Country Sweethearts benefit. The event featured silent and live auctions, a catered meal and dancing. Proceeds will go to support the foundation’s efforts to help Columbia Basin residents facing cancer treatment.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Attendees enjoy a meal at the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation’s Country Sweethearts event on Feb. 4. The crowd was filled with smiles as they joined together to support those dealing with challenging diagnoses.
A poster displayed at the 14th Annual Country Sweethearts Benefit Auction on Feb. 4 showed area residents who lost their cancer battle in the last year. Foundation Executive Director Angel Ledesma said losing clients is one of the harder parts of the job, but the rewards of seeing people through a difficult time outweigh the stresses of the job.
Attendees examine a silent auction item made up of cookware at the Country Sweethearts event on Feb. 4.
Catering at the Country Sweethearts event was provided by Michael’s on the Lake. The menu included baby back ribs, BBQ chicken, roasted red potatoes, Caesar salad, green beans with bacon and rolls. A variety of nonalcoholic and adult beverages were also available.
Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation Program Coordinator Amanda Carpenter jokes with the crowd while making announcements during the Country Sweethearts festivities on Feb. 4 at the Grant County Fairgrounds.
Auctioneer Chuck Yarbro, Jr. gets the crowd rolling for the live auction portion of the festivities during the Country Sweethearts event. Yarbro and his company, Chuck Yarbro Auctioneers, Inc. are regular supporters of CBCF.
MOSES LAKE – The Grant County Fairgrounds played host to a little more than 500 Columbia Basin residents who were there on Saturday, Feb. 4, to support the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation.
“We raised over $250,000,” said CBCF Executive Director Angel Ledesma.
The accounting is still getting finalized, but Ledesma said this year’s event was the largest amount the annual Country Sweethearts event, which features a large silent auction and a live auction, had pulled in for the local nonprofit. Funding from the event will go to support the foundation’s efforts to support area cancer patients as they go through treatment.
CBCF has a variety of programs laid out to support locals facing cancer, Ledesma said. Founded by a retired airline pilot – Howard Gallion – whose wife had passed from cancer in 1998, the foundation was created to help Basin cancer patients with expenses. Twenty-two years later, the foundation is still going strong and provides more than $8,000 in gas cards and other financial assistance to patients each month. Additionally, CBCF provides patients with a support system by offering an ear to listen to their frustrations, a support group, rides to appointments and a meal program for when the patients just aren’t able to cook for themselves.
“So, we’ve got the meals and we have volunteers who deliver the meals,” Ledesma said. “We also have volunteers who make bone broth.”
The broth serves as a nutritional staple for those enduring cancer treatment whose appetites are slumping because of pain or the side effects of medications and chemotherapy, Ledesma said.
“The reason we do bone broth is because not everybody likes those protein drinks, right? And (bone broth) is full of nutrition. So, it’s another way to get those nutrients,” she said.
The annual Country Sweethearts event supports the various programs at CBCF and allows the community to come together to support a good cause. Ledesma said that, when the pandemic started a few years ago, it put a dent in the annual event, so she was happy to see the rebound that the 2023 fundraiser brought about. The initial fundraising goal was $225,000 for this year’s shindig, but the amount brought in exceeded that by a bit more than $25,000 – showing that the community is united in fighting cancer and supporting one another, she said.
Auction items varied greatly. Spread out across the silent auction tables were baskets of goodies for foodies to appreciate, home decor, sports items and getaways.
A special auction item this year was a Goldendoodle puppy named Pink Lady. In addition to supporting CBCF, funds from that auction went to support Grant County Animal Outreach and Adams County Pet Rescue.
The live auction – emceed by auctioneer Chuck Yarbro, Jr. – featured a condo stay near the Silver Mountain resort, art from area artist Hannah Fountain, a hunting trip hosted by Rocky Coulee Guide Service, outdoor furniture, live music and several other opportunities for recreation.
Ledesma expressed appreciation for the support the Columbia Basin community continually offers the foundation. That uplifting effort helps her and the team at CBCF keep moving forward, she said.
Clients coming to the foundation for support often aren’t just looking for help with finances or food, she said. Many CBCF clients are also looking for company and emotional support. That includes a support group that meets the third Wednesday of each month from 2-3 p.m. and one-on-one time with staff at the foundation.
“It’s a personal connection that we make. The safe space that we provide,” Ledesma said. “They want to come in and chat because they’re just not getting that connection at home or just, nobody really knows what you’re going through unless you’ve gone through it yourself.”
R. Hans “Rob” Miller may be reached at editor@columbiabasinherald.com. Letters to the editor may be submitted directly to him at that address and he welcomes all feedback regarding the paper and appreciates news tips from community members.
Want to get involved?
The Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation welcomes support from the community throughout the year. To make a donation, mail it to the address below. For those who would like to volunteer or patients seeking support, visit the office or call them to set up an appointment. Donations via PayPal may also be made by clicking the “Donate” button in the top right corner of the website.
Support group meetings are held at 202 W. 3rd Ave. in Moses Lake the third Wednesday of each month.
Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation
www.columbiabasincancerfoundation.org
1031 W. Broadway Ave.
Moses Lake, WA 98837
509-764-4644
info@columbiabasincancerfoundation.org
Office open M–F. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
