Denise Kaley Fund for Berkshire County Women with Cancer Grant

The Denise Kaley Fund for Berkshire County Women with Cancer provides essential financial support for women battling cancer in Berkshire County. It assists with daily living expenses such as housing, food, transportation, and childcare, ensuring that women can focus on their healing journey. Established in memory of Denise Kaley, the fund collaborates with local social services to deliver timely aid. This enduring fund continues to grow, reflecting the community's commitment to helping those in need.

Note: Contact a client advocate who can submit an application on your behalf.
Grant Information
The Denise Kaley Fund for Berkshire Women with Cancer supports the day-to-day living expenses of Berkshire women who are living with cancer and have financial need: the single mother who needs a baby sitter to get to her chemotherapy appointments, an elderly woman who needs help with the rent or fuel bill in order to afford medical care, or a woman struggling to keep a job and make ends meet while going through treatment.
The fund covers the costs of transportation, housing, food, utilities, child care, insurance payments or anything that can help ease the struggles of women with cancer and allow them to focus on healing. The Denise Kaley Fund is endowed so that its support can continue annually and grow. The fund works hand-in-hand with social service agencies throughout the county so that support is offered exactly when and where it can do the most good.
The Fund's Beginning
A much-beloved healer in the Berkshires, Denise Kaley died of lung cancer in March 2010 at the age of 46. A month before her death and mindful of wanting to use her illness to help others who would follow in what she called her “cancer journey,” she and her close friend Barbara Bonner established this fund with Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. The fund helps support the day-to-day living expenses of women who are facing the twin struggles of cancer and serious financial need. What started as a modest memorial fund to Denise is now a force for good in our region as we make grants to women nearly every week throughout the year. With each passing year, our original donors and those who have come to know our work have increased their generosity, allowing us to answer all requests while also adding to our endowment.
How it Works
In the generous network of grantmaking vehicles to support women living with cancer, the Denise Kaley Fund stands alone as the last stop. It is the fund that helps cancer patients cover the costs of life’s necessities: heating oil, car repairs, groceries, babysitting, rent, mortgage payments and medical expenses not covered by insurance, to name just a few. Nearly every woman in Berkshire County who is being treated for cancer and looking for financial support is on the radar of the four remarkable women who make up our Community Referral Network. Because they know these women and have already become familiar with their situations, they work with them to find available resources. When all other sources of support are exhausted, they turn to the Denise Kaley Fund for emergency funding. Grant applications are received through Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation in the morning and voted on by the Advisory Committee, usually by email within a few hours. Once approved, a check can often be cut within a week.

Eligibility

Client advocates on behalf of female cancer patients with financial need in Berkshire County, MA.The Denise Kaley Fund for Berkshire Women with Cancer will provide the most basic support for local women including:ChildcareHousing or utility costsTransportationHousingFoodInsurance paymentsAny other costs that help the patient heal in a supportive environment