In the first half of 2018 the Supervisory Board of the cancer treatment foundation ‘The Gift of Life’ granted a record number of requests: 114. The foundation raised nearly 1.2 million euros in donations, twice as much as in the same period last year.
The number of people seeking help from the foundation keeps breaking records. Last year the foundation assisted 100 people; this year more people have received help in the first half of the year alone. While the foundation received 15-20 aid applications per month in February and March, one application was sent in per day in recent months.
Recipients can be found in nearly every county in Estonia. The youngest patients who have received help have been mothers and fathers in their thirties. For example, last week the Gift of Life called on people to support 38-year-old mother Marina. 400 people contributed more than 14,500 euros in just two days.
“The foundation’s become a movement that makes sure nobody’s left alone in their struggle, that all Estonian people get the necessary cancer treatment, hope and the chance to live,” said Gift of Life director Toivo Tänavsuu. “Pressure on the foundation’s increasing. We have more responsibility. But at the same time we’re very grateful to see that donations are also on the rise, and Estonians are doing more good. In our four and a half years of operations, despite everything, we’ve managed to help all cancer patients in need. No one’s been left out in the cold.”
This summer the foundation’s volunteers are busier than ever. The foundation is participating in nearly all major events to give visitors the chance to make spontaneous donations. For example, in July it will be taking part in the Baltic Sun and Viljandi Folk festivals and going on the UEFA trophy and Big Latvian Folk Party concert tours. Volunteers are raising funds in alcohol stores in Ainaži and Valka to bring some money back from Latvia.
Thanks to these events the foundation received over 100,000 euros in cash and debit card donations in the first half of the year.
The foundation invites all Estonian people to help out cancer patients via suitable monthly donations, even if they are as little as one euro. Setting up a monthly donation via your bank on the website www.kingitudelu.ee/annetajale takes a matter of seconds.
An overview of the foundation and the stories and testimonies of patients who have received help can be found on the Gift of Life’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kingitudelu.