Central Fire & EMS, Shear Perfection donate Hope boxes

By Neal Hogden

The Central Fire and EMS District and Shear Perfection in Colby joined forces to donate Hope boxes to the cancer unit at Marshfield Medical Center in late November.

The Central Fire and EMS District put on a t-shirt fundraiser in which proceeds went to help oncology patients in central Wisconsin.

The Central Fire and EMS District purchased gift cards for patients as well as Hope boxes full of moisturizer products and a bracelet for those going through cancer treatment. The department was helped out by In Stitches and Ink in Medford who donated the screen prints for the shirts and made it so more of the proceeds could go towards the donation.

Central Fire and EMS was able to purchase four $200 gift cards for local families who were going through a bout with cancer because of the fundraiser. On top of the four major gift card donations, the department purchased six Hope boxes and six other gift cards for the oncology department.

Lin Mueller of the Central Fire and EMS District said it was cool to see what such a simple thing such as a gift card or skin care products could do to bring hope to people going through a tough time.

“They were just thrilled to get them,” Mueller said. “Two of them we got responses back for and they were so appreciative of what we were able to do for them. Not that we’re expecting that, but it was nice that it really made a difference.”

Dawn Voelker of Shear Perfection in Colby said she was attending a conference and the Hope boxes were mentioned as something that could be a good product for cancer patients. The boxes were being sold by the Lemongrass Spa Company and included a “curated gift box with four products that soothe and restore skin and a bracelet to lift the spirits of any-

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SEASON OF GIVING - Leesha Robida, Dawn Voelker and Lin Mueller pose with members of the Marshfield Medical Center’s oncologly department. The trio helped the Central Fire and EMS District and Shear Perfection donate Hope boxes to cancer patients this holiday season.

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one going through a health journey, especially cancer,” according to the company’s website.

Voelker said at the conference, she looked back on losing her sister to cancer eight years ago when thinking about how she could give back.

“I remembered I was rubbing lotion on [my sister] because she was so dry,” Voelker said. “The other thing that popped in my head was when my sister was diagnosed with cancer, one of my customers made her this beautiful lap blanket. One day she thought she forgot it and she panicked. I got it for her and she looked at the nurse and said, ‘My sister’s customer made this for me and she doesn’t even know me.’ So all of that went through my head when they were introducing this Hope box.”

Voelker thought the Hope boxes would be a good way to show the patients at Marshfield Medical Center that communities around central Wisconsin are thinking of them, no matter where they’re from or what they’re going through. She also was proud of the way the Colby, Abbotsford, Unity, Dorchester and surrounding areas helped Voelker raise enough money to purchase 84 boxes in just over a month.

Voelker and Mueller are good friends and they worked together to get more boxes for the donation.

“It was all word of mouth and conversation,” Voelker said. “It was just two small-town girls trying to make a difference in the world. The thank you notes that we’ve been getting have been amazing. I didn’t do it for the recognition, I just did it because of my experience with my sister.”

Voelker said the Colby Puller’s Club and other area community members were essential to the operation.

“I want to thank each and every customer and business that donated to this cause,” Voelker said. “It shows the strength of small towns like Colby and I’m very proud to be a part of something like that.”

Mueller said she hopes the event can return next year and be an annual thing moving forward.

“I’m hoping we can continue to do it,” Mueller said. “We did so well this year and we kind of did it within and a few people heard about it. I had so many people come up to me after the fact and say they wanted a shirt.”

DONATING TO A GOOD CAUSE - The Central Fire and EMS district poses in the t-shirts they sold as a way to raise funds for the Hope boxes they donated to cancer patients this holiday season.

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