By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
COXSACKIE — It’s only the second year for the Cabin Fever fundraiser, but both years organizers have far exceeded their original goals.
The second annual Cabin Fever fundraiser was held at The Wire event center Saturday afternoon in Coxsackie, hosted by the Greene County Women’s League Cancer Patient Aid.
“We are raising money to help those in Greene County who are fighting cancer,” event co-chair Lisa Leone-Beers said. “The organization was founded in 1970 by a bunch of women up on the mountain. One of the women had just had cancer and she thought, people are fighting cancer, paying deductibles — what can we do to help? So they started this organization and it has been around for almost 55 years.”
The founding members of the Greene County Women’s League Cancer Patient Aid were Dorothy Beck, Lillian Becker, Sid Henderstein, Gloria Klein, Jean Lagana, Fran Moon, Lee Poplock, Fran Principe, Ethel Slutzky and Shirley Zwickel.
Saturday’s sold-out event included catered food from Mazzone Hospitality, music, raffles, live and silent auctions, a brown bag auction — where the bidder doesn’t know what they are bidding on — and a performance by the Witches Along the Hudson dance troupe.
For last year’s inaugural Cabin Fever event, the group exceeded their fundraising goal — it was originally $20,000, and they raised $56,000 — and this year also beat expectations.
“Our goal was to raise $40,000 this year, and we have already raised $44,000 from sponsorships alone, not counting ticket sales, auctions and raffles, so our goal is now $75,000,” Leone-Beers said.
The final amount raised was not available at press time.
In addition to selling out tickets for the event, there were 30 raffle baskets up for grabs, 20 live auction items, four brown bag auction items, door prizes and a 50/50, Tice-Jones said.
“We can’t thank Rebecca and Aaron Flach and The Wire enough for allowing us to have the event here,” Leone-Beers said. “Mazzone Hospitality is catering and the food is delicious. We also have so many sponsors — over 100 sponsors. And we have over 100 individuals and businesses that have given us raffle items.”
Leone-Beers and Tice-Jones first got involved with the organization after the death of a loved one because of cancer.
“This one is really personal to Lisa and I,” Tice-Jones said. “Her sister and my best friend passed away with pancreatic cancer. The Greene County Women’s League helped her. So, when she passed, and it’s been almost 10 years now, we decided to join to help others.”
Tice-Jones has also lost other friends to colon cancer.
“It’s a hard, hard disease, and it’s a disgusting disease in my opinion, so we are just trying to make it easier for the people who are fighting it,” she said. “Cancer is expensive, so we are just trying to make it a little bit easier.”
Recipients receive $5,000 in assistance over a three-year period. At this time, the organization is helping 64 men, women and children with cancer.
“We pay up to $5,000 for each of the patients,” Greene County Women’s League President Judee Synakowski said. “We pay for their medical bills, their co-pays, medicine, for women who need wigs, and prostheses if they need them.”
Synakowski and her family have also been touched by cancer, which spurred her involvement with the group.
“I joined because eight years ago I lost my husband to cancer, and also I am a survivor of cancer. I was diagnosed around the same time, eight years ago,” she said. “I didn’t know anything about this organization at the time, but later on, when I heard about it, I wanted to help them out. I didn’t have problems with paying my bills, but I wanted to help other people who do.”
For board member MaryJo Jaeger, her path to working with the Greene County Women’s League was also personal.
“I’ve known people with cancer and I’ve seen them struggle,” Jaeger said. “This group has helped people I know who had cancer. My one friend who was dying of cancer wanted to join, we were going to join together, but we put it off, hoping she would be up to it so we could do it together. But when she passed away, I wanted to join.”
The group’s next fundraiser will be a Bikers Against Cancer ride on May 18.
To join the Greene County Women’s League or to donate, visit www.greenecountywomensleague.com.
