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Senior Citizen Stars
Holocaust Survivor, Founder of American Cancer
Society’s Hope Lodge Turns 100
Margot Freudenberg is also longest serving volunteer
in ACS history
 Aug.
17, 2007 - Margot Freudenberg, a Holocaust survivor, founder of the
American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge movement, and the longest serving
volunteer with the ACS was honored on August 9 with "A Tribute to Margot
S. Freudenberg" in Charleston, South Carolina, to celebrate her 100th
birthday. Proceeds from the event will establish the "Margot S.
Freudenberg Endowment for the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge of the
Coastal Community Foundation."
As she celebrates her centennial, the American
Cancer Society is launching a record expansion of the system she created
– a network of free housing and support for out-of-town cancer patients
and their caregivers while undergoing care.
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Within the next two years, the number of Hope
Lodges will increase to 34, with Hope Lodges set to open this fall in
New York City and this winter in Twin Cities/Minneapolis and Grand
Rapids, Mich.
An additional nine facilities are in development,
and groundbreakings for expansion of the Charleston Hope Lodge and a new
Hope Lodge in Iowa City, Iowa were held earlier this summer.
"Forty years ago even one Hope Lodge was just a
dream," said Freudenberg. "To see the network expanding across the
country to provide support to cancer patients during their treatment is
more than I ever imagined would happen."
Trained as a physical therapist in her native
Germany, Margot immigrated to Charleston in 1940 and promptly
volunteered with the American Cancer Society, among other civic
organizations. With 67 years of service to ACS -- and counting -- she is
the longest-serving volunteer in the organization's history. Her
rationale for a lifetime of service is deceptively simple: She is giving
back to a country that helped her in a time of need.
"I have got so much satisfaction and happiness by
trying to help people in distress," she told Charleston's News and
Courier in 1959. "This is my repaying of my debt [to America]."
In the 1950s, as a member of Pres. Dwight D.
Eisenhower's People to People Ambassador Program, Margot traveled to New
Zealand where she was greatly impressed by a cancer facility the group
visited.
The place offered free, temporary housing to cancer
patients undergoing treatment, and did so in a warm, homey environment.
She returned to this country determined to see such a home built in her
adopted hometown of Charleston.
That dream came true in 1970, when the nation's
first Hope Lodge opened its doors at 267 Calhoun Street, in an historic
Charleston-style home. Margot was instrumental in arranging the donation
of the home by the Exchange Club of Charleston and in securing
operational funds from the Henry J. Stuhr family.
Later, in the 1990s, she played a central role in
securing the home next door, donated by Barbara and Edwin Pearlstine. On
July 10, Margot will be there for the Charleston Hope Lodge one more
time, to take part in the groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies to
mark its latest expansion.
Since it first opened, the Charleston facility has
served more than 8,000 cancer patients and caregivers. Today, there are
22 Hope Lodges nationwide, as well as 21 additional lodges under
development.
The latest expansion to the Charleston Hope Lodge
has been made possible by several generous gifts, most prominently a
$2.8-million donation by Irwin Belk of Charlotte, NC. Belk, the founder
of Belk Department Stores, is also a distinguished ACS volunteer, having
served over the years as president of the North Carolina Division and
president of The Society Foundation.
Hope Lodges, which are part of a national patient
service program run by the American Cancer Society, are free,
residential facilities for individuals undergoing cancer treatment and
their caregiver. More than just lodging, the Hope Lodge provides
patients and their caregivers with a supportive environment and sense of
community. Patients are surrounded by people going through the same
experience and given the space they need to focus on healing. Hope
Lodges provide trained staff offering emotional support, cancer care
information and compassion.
In 2006 alone, more than 17,000 patients,
caregivers and family members stayed at American Cancer Society Hope
Lodges, saving nearly $18 million in hotel expenses. Patients and
caregivers now come from all 50 states and more than 75 countries,
including Egypt, Greece, France, Guatemala, Italy, El Salvador, Russia
and Switzerland.
"Margot's vision was to offer hope and a haven for
people with cancer," said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., national chief
executive officer of the American Cancer Society.
"Many cancer patients must travel away from home to
receive treatment that can last weeks or months. They often struggle to
manage medical bills, other financial burdens, and the emotional
isolation of being away from home. The national American Cancer Society
Hope Lodge network provides thousands of cancer patients with access to
the best possible cancer treatment each year and the support of the Hope
Lodge 'community.'
“I’m so honored that within Margot's lifetime,
we're realizing her dream and providing services to so many people at
such a critical point in their fight with this disease."
The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge New York
City will be the newest facility when it opens later this year. The
77,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly facility
will be a campus of care for city residents, commuters, and out-of-town
guests seeking information, advice, peer support and guidance through
every phase of treatment. It will feature:
▪ 60 patient rooms with private baths
▪ Shared family and meeting rooms
▪ Kitchen facilities ▪ Laundry facilities
▪ On-site patient and family service programs
"We are so proud and excited to be opening our Hope
Lodge in New York City and look forward to welcoming cancer patients and
their caregivers," said Donald Distasio, chief executive officer of the
American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey.
"The new Hope Lodge will make it possible for
cancer patients to come to New York to access cancer care that they
otherwise would not have been able to afford due to the high cost of
temporary lodging in Manhattan."
And, in Minneapolis, the new Twin Cities Hope Lodge
will be a 22,000 square-foot facility with 40 patient rooms with private
baths, and the facility in Grand Rapids will be a 30,000 square-foot
facility with 20 patient rooms with private baths. Both Hope Lodges will
have shared family and meeting rooms, kitchen and laundry facilities and
provide on-site programs for the cancer patients and their caregivers.
The American Cancer Society has existing Hope
Lodges in the following cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Ala.,
Buffalo, N.Y., Burlington, Vt., Charleston, S.C, Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Gainesville, Fla., Greenville, N.C., Hershey, Pa., Kansas City, Mo.,
Lexington, Ky., Marshfield, Wis., Nashville, Tenn., New Orleans,
Rochester, Minn., Rochester, N.Y., St. Louis, San Juan, Puerto Rico,
Tampa, Fla., and Worcester, Mass. Hope Lodge is part of the American
Cancer Society Cancer Resource Network that helps patients and their
caregivers manage the impact of cancer on their lives through up-to-date
cancer information and referrals to Society programs and other community
resources.
For questions about cancer or more information
about the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, contact the American
Cancer Society, toll-free, 24 hours a day, at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit
its Web site at www.cancer.org.
The American Cancer Society is dedicated to
eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives,
diminishing suffering and preventing cancer through research, education,
advocacy and service. Founded in 1913 and with national headquarters in
Atlanta, the Society has 13 regional Divisions and local offices in
3,400 communities, involving millions of volunteers across the United
States. For more information anytime, call toll free 1-800-ACS-2345 or
visit www.cancer.org.
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