(Members of the Stittsville and District Lions Club presented a $16,000 cheque to Tammy Rhyholm on December 11, 2019. Photo: Stittsville Central.)
For the past six weeks Lion Gord MacIsaac has been knocking on doors and sharing the story of Stittsville Mom, Tammy Rhyholm, a young single mother of two teenaged daughters who has been struck with cancer with very few resources to help her in this battle. The disease is incurable.
Each year the Stittsville District Lions Club conducts their Annual Fundraising Campaign raising funds to help the less fortunate or those in need of financial assistance. For 2019, the Club focused their campaign on Tammy after Gord read of her plight in a September story on Stittsville Central. Gord told us, “that he left copies of the story when he went about collecting donations from our community businesses and others; and after reading about this emotional situation, they wanted to help!”
This evening, the Lions Club and Stittsville community were pleased to be able to help Tammy and presented a cheque in the amount of $16,000. The money will allow Tammy and her two teenaged daughters to spend quality time together, especially during the Christmas season, while also providing relief from the stress associated with Tammy’s treatment costs.
(L to R: Don Zogalo, Jeni Sandeman Felhaber, Mom Bonnie, Tammy and Don Carson.)
Throughout her fight against the disease, Tammy has been supported by her Mom, Bonnie, and her best friend, Jeni Sandeman Felhaber (who also organized a fundraiser for Tammy in September). Both were present for the cheque presentation and all were speechless and overwhelmed by the generosity shown by the Lions and our community.
The kindness of our community didn’t end there. Diane Johnson, local quilt maker, has offered a Victorian Quilt to Tammy and Marilyn Southall donated a basket of homemade cookies from a cookie exchange she attended in Richmond.
(Marilyn Southall presents her basket of homemade cookies to Tammy.)
The Stittsville Lions Club have always had the interest of our community in mind and didn’t hesitate to step up when they heard of a family facing a difficult situation. This particular circumstance touched the Lions members as it has the family.