CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman County Bosom Buddies Foundation (CCBBF) said it is overwhelmed by the support shown by the community. The nonprofit hosted its annual Little Pink Dress Benefit on Oct. 3, 2023, and boasted a record turnout. The event raised more than $26,000, money that has already been applied to assist at least 100 Cullman residents with basic needs while undergoing cancer treatments.
CCBBF Board Member Judy Grissom said, “It is amazing, but it’s because the community has gotten behind us; they’re the reason that we’re able to do this. Because without their support and their donations, we couldn’t, and so we’re so grateful to them every day.”
In the wake of COVID-19, Grissom envisioned a more intimate feel to the LPD benefit, and has since opted for a night of fellowship and fundraising instead of programs and paid speakers, emphasizing the need all humans have for connection and close conversation.
“I said I want this to be a social evening so that people that have been closed up can just mix and mingle and talk and visit,” she said. “So that’s what we did. We shortened (it), and we don’t have a program. That’s when we started with the video and just let people visit. It’s just a fun night.”
Grissom said CCBBF would be an unrealized dream if Mary Dyer hadn’t begun a small support group, offering help to neighbors and friends in their time of need.
Speaking of Dyer’s will to help others, Grissom recalled, “It started as Bosom Buddies Support Group. In 2011 and 2012, people started asking Mary and her support group to help them with their basic living expenses, such as rent or housing, utility bills and that sort of thing. So Mary and her group would have a bake sale. Mary said she had made as many as 20 (cakes) and carried them up to the hospital and they would sell them at the hospital to raise enough money to pay this person’s bills.”
Thanking the CCBBF Advisory Board for its continued support, Grissom said, “All of our board members, like our president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, they’re all survivors. We’re all survivors. So the advisory board is just an extra layer of support for all of us.”
If you or someone you know need financial assistance while undergoing cancer treatment, contact Jessica Nicholson at 256-737-2588.
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