BPCG supports research, helps victims

According to Cheri Krejci, a member of the organization’s board of directors since 2002, the Blooming Prairie Cancer Group (BPCG) was founded after the 2000 Eagles Cancer Telethon, when an 80-year-old resident saw there were no donations from Blooming Prairie.

Determined to see that change because she had lost both a daughter and a granddaughter to cancer, the woman worked with her family to begin raising money and managed to collect $1,600 at their very first event. The BPCG has gone on to collect and donate a total of $1.5 million to the telethon in the years since, according to Krecji.

Currently in the process of retiring from leadership roles with BPCG after 22 years of participation, Krejci is well acquainted with the organization’s development.

She mentions that during 2024 BPCG donated $85,000 to the Eagles Cancer Telethon, $85,000 to the Hormel Cancer Research Institute in Austin, and about $65,000 in support of individuals or families caught up in a fight against cancer.

“We try to personalize the way we help,” she states, offering the example of a couple whose baby had been diagnosed with cancer and whose father suffered from a disability. “We found someone who could mow their lawn for them,” she says, “because the mother just didn’t have time to get it done.” In another case, the group arranged to build an accessibility ramp at a cancer victim’s home.

Recognizing the various difficulties cancer victims face while seeking treatment, Krejci lists gas cards, Mayo Clinic parking passes, and money toward overnight lodging among the most common types of assistance the BPCG offers.

“We make decisions on a case-by-case basis,” she says. “We try to concentrate our resources where they will help reduce the stress and worry victims and their families face.”

Most people helped by the BPCG live within 20 to 30 miles of Blooming Prairie, she says, but since the organization is independent, the 20 or so board members collaborate regarding who they will help and in what ways.

Krejci suggests anyone who wants to notify the BPCG regarding a family which could use assistance can reference the group’s web page, bpcancergroup.org.