Our Mission

It is the mission of Wellness Place to provide education, support and understanding at no charge to those affected by cancer.

Wellness Place is a charitable 501(c)3 organization. All programs and services are 100% gift funded and able to be offered at no charge through generous donations, grants, and fundraising event proceeds.

Our Vision

It is our vision to be a recognized regional leader in cancer education and support, providing comprehensive services that are individualized, complimentary to medical treatment and offered at no charge to each participant.

2008 Annual Report
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Our Organization

Wellness Place was founded over a decade ago by two Barrington area women as they recovered from breast cancer treatment. Linda Murphy and Myrna Porter envisioned a community-based, non-medical support center in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago where people living with cancer could gather for counseling, education, encouragement and empowerment – at no fee

Since then Wellness Place has become a key community asset serving those diagnosed with cancer, as well as their family and caregivers. Professionals with oncology training provide counseling and support to help manage emotional and physical responses to cancer, sort through treatment options and side effects, formulate questions for doctors, and better communicate matters to family members, healthcare professionals and employers.

All programs and services are 100% gift funded and able to be offered without charge through donations and grants from individuals, foundations and businesses in the community. An annual giving campaign, major fund-raising events, community grants, and donations of services and goods also support the center and further the mission of Wellness Place. Cancer survivors, healthcare professionals, counseling and oncology information specialists, volunteers, and staff—work together—providing vital support to the cancer community.

Wellness Place is a charter member of the Cancer Health Alliance of Metropolitan Chicago, a consortium of independent cancer education and support centers offering programs and services at no charge, to those affected by cancer www.cancerhealthalliance.com.

The Importance of Psychosocial Support with a Cancer Diagnosis :

In 2007 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released Cancer Care for the Whole Patient, a report sponsored by the National Institute of Health (NIH) emphasizing the importance of treating psychosocial (emotional and social) needs of those experiencing cancer. The report concluded that supportive services such as those offered at Wellness Place “reduce patients’ suffering, help them adhere to prescribed treatments, and support their return to health.” The IOM report has shown that “1 out of 3 cancer patients/survivors exhibited significant psychological distress in response to their illness…high distress patients were 15 times more likely to be re-hospitalized.” The IOM report concludes that “attending to psychosocial needs should be an integral part of quality cancer care.” www.iom.edu

Spring is in the air as we finally begin to thaw from the long winter. Of course with spring, brings the kick-off of events and fundraisers as Wellness Place begins the celebration of our year long “Decade of Dedication” 10 year anniversary! First up is our highly anticipated inaugural Wellness Place Community Cancer 3kWalk/5kRun to take place on May 16 at Harper College. What better way to celebrate survivors, remember loved ones and raise awareness than participating in this family fun event. Gather family and friends and go to our website at Wellnessplace.org to register your team! We need everyone’s help to meet our goal of 100 teams! Once registered the FUNdraising begins! There are lots of ways to fundraise for your team, so check out our website for ideas and inspiration.

Speaking of websites...we are very excited to finally unveil our new design! This interactive site includes staff blogs, calendar updates, cancer-related articles, events and much more. Do you have an inspiring story about your cancer journey that you would like to share? Log on and submit your story in the “Stories of Strength” section. While you’re there read what others have already shared. This user-friendly site is a work in progress, so please be gentle with us as we work through the kinks. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback and comments.

Last, I’m saddened to report that after five years Belongings, our donation and consignment store in Barrington, has closed their doors. Economic challenges these past few years have affected us all and Belongings was no exception. The Belongings shop was originally opened as a self-sustaining fundraising arm for Wellness Place. This difficult decision was made so that Wellness Place resources could remain focused on our core mission of providing vital support and education programs to the ever growing cancer population from our community. We are grateful beyond words to the legions of dedicated volunteers, donors, consignors and customers who supported the efforts of the shop over the years...thank you all so much for your faithful help! 

Warmest Regards,
Pam

PS Our golf outing is just around the corner...mark your calendar for July 26 at Twin Orchards Country Club.  Information on this event and more can be found on our website!