As donations to the St. Anthony Regional Hospital’s new cancer center from local businesses and families continue to roll in, a group of the hospital’s employees have decided to do a little fundraising on their own. Katie Nelson, a nurse in radiation oncology, Garden View Director, Kari Nuzback, and Chaplain Angelo Luis are spearheading this effort. Nelson says 11 employees from more than a half-dozen departments managed to raise several thousand dollars in only a few weeks’ time.
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Their efforts will come to an end on Oct. 20 when the group runs in the IMT Des Moines Marathon. Nelson and Luis will complete a full marathon with the other nine running their first half-marathon. All their fundraising efforts are being conducted through the Building Hope One Mile at a Time Facebook page. Nelson and Nuzback say this method provides a simple and effective way for people to support the cause in a variety of ways.
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With two months left until the marathon, they are already more than halfway to their $5,000 goal. The groundbreaking for the $16.5 million cancer center on St. Anthony’s Carroll campus was held in April, and officials are hopeful they will begin accepting patients in the fall of 2020. Luis says cancer is a scary word, but people can feel some comfort knowing they have a state-of-the-art facility nearby.
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To stay up to date with the St. Anthony runners or to contribute to their fundraiser, follow the link included with this story on our website.
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Building Hope One Mile at a Time Facebook page