Thanks to the Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers, those staying at a Sudbury facility providing low-cost accommodations to out-of-town cancer patients and their families will now be able to get a free cup of coffee.
The club has collected 300 cans of coffee for Daffodil Terrace Lodge.
The donation is something that hits home for Louise Bergeron, the club's incoming president.
In 2012, she received treatments for breast cancer at the Northeast Cancer Centre, and met many people staying at Daffodil Terrace Lodge. In fact, a few ladies even invited her to a barbecue there.
“I'm so proud of every single member in our club,” said Bergeron. “We have very active lives.
“When everybody just stops, and gives of their time, their energy, their money to help the causes in Sudbury — and in this particular case the cancer centre and the lodge — it just again reaffirms why I want to be a part of this club.”
Koop Alkema, who was the manager of Daffodil Terrace Lodge for seven years, was on hand at the Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers' June 9 meeting to give a presentation to members about what the facility does.
“I think the Rotarians are just an amazing community group,” said Alkema, who recently took on a new role as the manager, cancer screening, diagnostic assessment programs and genetics at the Northeast Cancer Centre
“They've supported many good causes. This is a really good cause as well. Patients are in our lodge during a very difficult time in their life, and any support they can get, anything they don't need to worry about, is helpful for them.”
People interested in donating coffee to the Daffodil Terrace Lodge themselves can do so by bringing the cans to any Lougheed Funeral Home or the Desimone Foot and Ankle Clinic.
The Rotary Club of Sudbury Sunrisers also have another charitable effort coming up. Fishing for Food, which takes place June 16-20, involves filling a boat with non-perishable food items at Ramakko's Source for Adventure.
In this case, the food goes to the Elgin Street Mission. Learn more at www.rotarysunrisers.com.
***Due to incorrect information provided to Sudbury.com, an earlier version of this story said it was the lodge's tight budget that meant those staying at the facility were no longer able to access free coffee. Koop Alkema, referenced above, said cancer patients had actually been pooling their money for coffee, but when the lodge started charging $10 a night, less money was coming in to pay for the beverage.
