Page 125 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2018
P. 125

GIVING BACK aiding cancer patients
For 13 years, Pink Heart Funds
has been serving local women and children who are dealing with cancer treatments or hair loss disorders
by providing wigs, free breast prosthetics, post-mastectomy bras, and lymphedema sleeves to the uninsured and the underinsured. The organization also hosts a center where women can relax, embodying the organization’s motto, “Inspire, Encourage, Restore Hope.”
JoAn Niceley, founder, president
and cancer survivor, wanted a place where women felt comfortable while getting fitted for prosthetics, and the Hope Boutique — part of the Pink Heart Funds Center — was born, providing an inviting and non-clinical atmosphere. She describes the space as “girly and pretty,” something she needed when she was going through cancer treatment, following a breast cancer diagnosis in October 2002.
JoAn Niceley
“One hundred percent of Mississippi donations stay in the state to help local children and women going through cancer and hair loss disorders,” Niceley said. “We are all volunteer- based, with no administration fees.”
Office Manager Gail Campbell reports that In the past 12 months Pink Heart Funds has supplied
approximately 300 wigs and
1,200 post-mastectomy and breast prosthesis. “We have been honored by the Make Sense Foundation with
a grant of $20,000 to be used to help breast cancer survivors nation wide,” she added.
Pink Heart Funds also takes ponytail donations, accepting hair of all kinds that is at least 10 inches long. Hair donations should be clean and dry, secured with a ponytail holder or braid, and placed in a Ziploc bag.
“We are very excited to have ‘Scuba’ Steve Johnson as our first male board member and a cancer survivor,” Campbell said. “He is the face to remind all that Pink Heart Funds isn’t just about breast cancer but all cancers.”
Pink Heart Funds
P.O. Box 1047, Long Beach 228.575.8299 • www.pinkheartfunds.org
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of Pink Heart Funds
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December 2018 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 125


































































































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