LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Patients who are in the hospital during the holidays miss out on time with friends and family gathered around for a wonderful meal. It’s why Alex and Tommy Gift bring the taste of Thanksgiving to patients on the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit at UofL Health – UofL Hospital. The Gift brothers provided a catered Thanksgiving meal to BMT patients and their families. This is the ninth year of support by the family.
“My mom loved Thanksgiving—the food and spending time with those she loved. She made the best corn pudding, and now I make it every year,” said Alex Gift.
Mary Jane Gift lost her life to cancer in 2010. In honor of her life, sons Alex and Tommy Gift established the Mary Jane Gift Quality of Life Fund at the UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center as a way to help patients and their families enjoy life while facing a cancer diagnosis.
“We want patients and their families to know they are not alone and that people care. We also want them to know that cancer doesn’t have to define them,” Tommy Gift said. Tommy also serves on the Regional Cancer Center Corporation board for the Brown Cancer Center.
Each year, the Gift brothers also host an annual volleyball tournament, Spike It To Cancer, to raise money for the fund. The event includes both a pro and amateur division.
Money from the fund also supports short-term housing for BMT patients and their families who require lengthy treatment plans and must stay nearby following discharge from the hospital.
Donations to the Mary Jane Gift Qualify of Life Fund can be made at Give.Louisville.edu/MaryJaneGift.
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