
The Love from Margot Foundation, an organization that provides financial and spiritual support to low-income and underinsured women who have been diagnosed with a woman’s cancer, has launched a chapter here in the Coachella Valley.
The launch was commemorated with a street naming and dedication at “Lunch for Love” on Saturday, November 30, 2013 adjacent to Volkswagen of Palm Springs, located at 67909 East Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City. Margot Murphy Way is named in honor of the late Margot Murphy, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 38 after a nine-year battle with breast cancer.
“As I watched my dear wife suffer, I was completely powerless to do anything to help her,” recalls Michael Murphy, Founder of the organization and co-owner of Volkswagen Palm Springs. “I came to the painful realization that there must be so many other wonderful women and their families facing this same sort of horrible situation, and I wanted to help them.”
Murphy founded the Love from Margot Foundation in 2012 to help women in the San Francisco Bay Area whom are struggling to make ends meet while undergoing treatment or are on the road to recovery. The Foundation gives 100% of donations directly to support clients, with Murphy covering all overhead and expenses. On November 23, 2013, the Margot Murphy Community Center opened its doors in Oakland. The Center serves the surrounding community, along with clients of the Foundation.
The Foundation has partnered with The Shanti Project in the Bay Area, an organization that enhances the quality of life, health, and well being of people living with life-threatening illnesses, including breast cancer and HIV/AIDS. Murphy recently gifted a four-year, $600,000 grant to the organization.
“I’m touched beyond words by Mike’s generosity. Anyone who is facing life-threatening or terminal illness deserves to have at least one compassionate advocate and friend by their side,” says Kaushik Roy, Executive Director of The Shanti Project. “Mike’s gift to Shanti over the next four years will ensure that more than 400 of our most marginalized and vulnerable neighbors will have at least one source of support that they otherwise may not have.”
Now with a chapter here in the Coachella Valley, Murphy has committed $100,000 to Gilda’s Club Desert Cities to directly support its members who have been diagnosed with women’s cancer. Paula Kennedy, President and CEO of Gilda’s Club Desert Cities, estimates that these funds will serve approximately 50 of her clients.
“It’s for those extra needs outside of medical treatment,” explains Kennedy. “It’s a wonderful thing, because so many of our members are desperate for this help.”
“We are proud to become part of the fabric of this wonderful Coachella Valley community, and look forward to working with Gilda’s Club to improve the quality of life for as many of these women as possible,” adds Murphy.
For more information about how you can help, or to apply for a Foundation grant, please visit www.lovefrommargot.com.
Original Article: http://www.desertcharities.com/2013/12/love-from-margot-foundation-launches-desert-chapter-2/
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