Group delivers 'Hope' during cancer crisis

• Fundraiser set for Dec. 6 at Texas Roadhouse on Eau Gallie Boulevard.
• 23 families have been helped by Give a Little Hope
• Nearly 5,000 volunteer hours have been clocked.
• 200 "Hope Totes" have been given away.

Sally Derrick’s daughter was 8 years old when she crafted a weekday ritual.

“Every morning before she’d leave for school, she’d make me ‘pinkie promise’ that I wasn’t going to die while she was at school,” a solemn Derrick recalls of the routine, spawned after she was diagnosed with pancreatic, lung and skin cancer four years ago. “And she would also ask, ‘Are we going to be OK?’ ”

Derrick, now 53, would smile and reassure her youngest of three kids. Yes, it was going to be OK. And she’d wait until she was alone to break down.

Despite a terminal diagnosis and soaring medical debt, Derrick found a bright spot – Randy Wouters, founder of Give a Little Hope.

“I would get a message from Randy to let me know he was praying, and there were meals being delivered that night,” Derrick said of the volunteer-run nonprofit, which helps cancer-affected families. “And I just felt like they were my cheerleaders, my support system to get me in our darkest hour, to get us to the next day.”

The faith-based 501(c)3 aims to help Brevard families just like Derrick’s – to be a source of financial, emotional and physical support to people battling cancer. More than $15,000 has been given to those in need, with 23 families helped, Wouters said.

“Literally, (it’s) whatever we can do to help the family,” said Wouters, 34, of Palm Bay. “It’s not just about people getting money, per se. It’s also about getting the help and providing help. Sometimes, hope means more than the money.”

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A fundraiser is set for 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 6 at Texas Roadhouse, 425 E. Eau Gallie Blvd., Melbourne. The eatery will donate 10 percent of the day’s gross sales to the nonprofit. The organization will also be hosting a bake sale outside of the restaurant.

The group is hoping to get the word out about the cause – to inspire volunteers to help, businesses to donate and make more cancer patients aware that, yes, “Hope” is out there.

The start

Derrick was actually the inspiration for Give a Little Hope. Wouters, who leads worship at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, felt compelled to act after hearing of Derrick’s cancer diagnosis and mounting medical debt.

Wouters joined with Derrick’s son, Andrew, then 14, to act as a “worship team,” named Sally’s Hope. The plan? Record an album, sell it for $10 per CD and give the proceeds to Derrick and another churchgoer, who was suffering from head and neck cancer. They pulled in just under $5,000 for the two. The man, unfortunately, died several months later.

But the effort started a movement in Wouters’ mind.

“I had no intention of starting a nonprofit when we started the band,” said Wouters, a husband and father who teaches physics and chemistry at Melbourne High. “I just thought we were going to record some music and help some people out. And then I decided that this was going to be bigger than a band.”

He wanted to help ease the burdens of Brevardians in a health crisis. Not just cancer patients, but their whole family.

Wouters teamed up with his in-laws and others, filing paperwork with the IRS. They’ve been an official charity since 2013. Joe Libasci, his father-in-law, serves as a board member and treasurer.

That original CD is sold at events alongside volunteers promoting the cause. More than 200 “Hope Totes” – red cloth bags filled with that album, accessories to keep chemo patients warm, the Bible and more – have been handed out at treatment centers and hospital oncology wards.

Brevard's kids need a voice � is it you?

There are about 26 active volunteers who help with the simple things that aren’t so simple when you’re fighting cancer. That includes delivering meals, transportation, lawn maintenance, grocery shopping, car repairs and more.

They pray with people. Talk to them. Take care of household expenses for a month to try and get them caught up. A pre-paid cell phone is passed around amongst volunteers, each taking turns fielding inquiries.

Libasci said he’d like to eventually establish a cancer resource center, perhaps an 800-square-foot office providing information and support.

“We want to be the first stop for them to fight the fight,” Libasci said.

All kinds of help

Part of the fight includes feeling better. The group bought Derrick a wig after her hair became a casualty of chemo. Not working anymore because of her illness, Derrick said she and her husband, Steve, a manager at Publix on U.S. 192 in Melbourne, is the sole provider now. The couple had to cash in their son’s college savings to pay for treatment that sometimes ran $4,200 out-of-pocket weekly.

“It’s not that we’re vain,” Derrick said of welcoming the wig.  “It makes us look normal and feel normal.”

Derrick is also a volunteer who has inspired others, including Kristen Sinclair, 40, of Melbourne. Sinclair is a manager at Publix in Bayside Lakes.

Sinclair saw a plea from Derrick via Facebook earlier this year. A cancer patient and his wife needed a lift to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, where the husband needed some medical testing done. Sinclair wouldn’t be working that day and, without knowing the couple,  told Derrick, “I am more than happy to do this for you and for them.”

“They were just the sweetest two people ever,” Sinclair said of her experience. “We had the greatest time driving up there.”

Sinclair had faith in a charity Derrick stood behind.

“It was the absolute least I could do for Sally,” Sinclair said.

Derrick thrives on helping others who’ve been forced to choose. Kids who have a family member with cancer still want to celebrate birthdays, go on school field trips and dress up for Halloween.

“There are times you have to decide whether you want to buy groceries or treatment,” Derrick said. “I never wanted anyone to feel that way again…There are many ‘Sallys’ out there.”

DeAnna Chase, 29, of Melbourne is definitely one.

In March, the mom of two learned she had breast cancer. A double mastectomy and two more surgeries and chemotherapy followed. Chase was unable to keep up with her business cleaning homes. Her fiancé tended to her and their son Camden, 2. Wedding plans are on hold.

“Sean had to quit his job,” Chase said. “He stayed home for three months. It was a struggle to stay afloat.”

Another chemo patient clued her in about Hope. She applied for assistance and help was swift.

“They showed up literally in two days,” Chase said.

Her eyes well as she speaks of the help – from babysitting, gift cards for diapers to covering utility bills.

“Without them, I probably wouldn’t have electricity right now or water or…I’m going to get emotional,” Chase says, pausing. “They have helped me more than they will ever know…My family’s so thankful.”

Derrick said people who haven’t had cancer affect their family aren’t aware of how it turns life into something completely different.

“(They) don’t realize the financial burden we carry,” Derrick said. “Not just to save our lives, but to keep our families together.”

Learn more

Want to lend a hand to Give a Little Hope? Check out these upcoming fundraisers:

• 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 6 at Texas Roadhouse, 425 E. Eau Gallie Blvd., Melbourne. Ten percent of gross sales for the day will be donated to the cause. The nonprofit will also be hosting a bake sale outside of of the restaurant. 
• Dec. 9: The nonprofit will be handing out free sub vouchers for the grand opening of Jersey Mike's in Viera. A $2 per sub donation is requested.  
• April 23: Third annual Golf Tournament at the Majors Golf Course in Palm Bay.  The $75 per player entry fee will include greens fees, goodie bag, breakfast and lunch. Reduced rate available until April 16. 

For information on these events and more, call 844-200-HOPE (4673) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or visit the website. Applications for assistance or to donate can be made at givealittlehope.org. They're also on facebook.com/givealittlehopeorg, on Twitter @givealittleH0PE and on Instagram @givealittlehope & @givealittlehopeshop.