Hope Chest with Barbara Hensley
Posted
on May 12, 2015
Our meeting on the 12th was a presentation by Barbara Hensley, who is the founder and head of a program called Hope Chest.
Hope Chest began when Barb’s two younger sisters died from breast cancer. Actually, the idea for Hope Chest occurred during their chemo sessions. Being members of a close-knit family, Barb went to their sessions and not.JPG)
iced that many of the women had no support person with them. Many of the young women had serious financial problems including loss of jobs, small children, housing problems and the like. The hospital caregivers were helping them with the cancer problems, but they would leave the sessions and face discouraging problems. Barb, in cooperation with the medical people, set up the program which provides financial aid for babysitters, rent and utility bills and meals for these needy women. There is no delay for paperwork or approval – if the nurses and doctors see the need, they can authorize payments and give the patients help to ease the non-medical problems of this type of cancer.
iced that many of the women had no support person with them. Many of the young women had serious financial problems including loss of jobs, small children, housing problems and the like. The hospital caregivers were helping them with the cancer problems, but they would leave the sessions and face discouraging problems. Barb, in cooperation with the medical people, set up the program which provides financial aid for babysitters, rent and utility bills and meals for these needy women. There is no delay for paperwork or approval – if the nurses and doctors see the need, they can authorize payments and give the patients help to ease the non-medical problems of this type of cancer.To fund these activities, Barb set up retail stores - there’s one on Shoreline Road in Island Park – to sell donated upscale items such as furniture, and boutique clothing. There are also stores in Bloomington and Rochester (the store in St Paul lost its lease and a new site will open soon).
There are 5 ways to support her program: visit the store and buy, donate to the foundation, attend the fundraisers, donate some of your extra upscale stuff, or tell others of the program.
Website: www.HopeChest.com. Phone 952-471-8700. Location 3850 Shoreline Drive in Island Park.