KETTERING — Three radiation therapists at Kettering Health have launched a thriving non-profit called Coats for a Cure to provide winter clothing to patients in need.
The initiative, which began six months ago at the hospital’s main campus, allows patients to receive brand new coats or entire outfits during their treatment.
The program was created to address immediate needs as outdoor temperatures began to drop in Montgomery County. The non-profit has already raised more than $2,000 and is now focused on expanding its reach beyond the hospital network.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Man arrested after driving through restaurant’s patio while running from police in Celina
- Downtown Dayton DORA suspended for St. Patrick’s Day
- ‘Badly decomposed’ body found inside home by prospective homebuyers identified
Clothing items for the program are housed in the Care Closet at the Kettering Health main campus. While the closet has existed for several years, radiation therapists Jessica Schwab, Crystal Bullock, and Zach Gregus joined together to create the specific Coats for a Cure initiative to provide brand-new coats and full outfits to patients.
Schwab, a radiation therapist at Kettering Health Soin, explained that the group wanted to provide immediate, direct assistance to those they treated on campus.
“There are so many amazing resources that are available in our community, but there isn’t something that I can give you right now in this moment, human to human,” Schwab said.
“So that was really what we wanted. We wanted to create something that was here on campus, where we saw a patient, we saw a need.”
In the six months since its inception, the project has grown into a functioning non-profit with its own website. The organization raised more than $2,000 during the holiday season and recently completed its first restock of clothing items as the program gains visibility.
Bullock, a radiation therapist at Kettering Health, said the recent restock serves as evidence that the program is working. “It went from, you know, people not really knowing about it or using it, to now, we just finished our first restock,” Bullock said.
“So you know that’s definitely, yeah, that’s definitely affirming to see that it actually is getting some use and traction.”The therapists involved in the project say the work provides a sense of personal fulfillment by helping those who lack the means to acquire winter clothing.
Gregus, a radiation therapist at Kettering Health, said providing for others without expecting anything in return is a primary motivator for the group.“
It feels, honestly, really good to just do things for people and get nothing back for it,” Gregus said. “I think doing stuff like this and just being aware that we’re helping people that don’t have the ability to get stuff is, I don’t know, it’s very fulfilling.”
The organization is currently working to spread awareness of the program beyond the internal hospital network.
Coats for a Cure also plans to establish a similar program in the future, specifically designed to help child patients.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
