A New Name
Whether you live in Crookston, Duluth, St. Paul, Rochester, Marshall, Bemidji, Red Lake, or anywhere in between, we want you to be among the first to hear our exciting news:
On January 1, 2024—the start of our 10th anniversary year—
Gilda’s Club Minnesota will officially become GILDA’S CLUB MINNESOTA!
We are so proud to claim this new name, one that reflects our statewide reach, which has been growing county by county over the past five years, helping to ensure that no Minnesotan faces cancer alone.
Removing Barriers from Border to Border
Because we are successfully running two clubhouses— a physical one in the Twin Cities and a virtual one for anyone in Minnesota—we are serving more Minnesotans than ever before, and our new name reflects this.
By introducing virtual programming during the pandemic—a silver lining to COVID—we were able to make our free programming accessible to all of Minnesota: from rural farms and small towns where the closest neighbor could be 20 miles away to urban areas that aren’t effectively served by mass transit.
The reason we were able to shift so quickly to virtual support when the pandemic hit was due, in part, to our strategic planning committee, which—in pre-pandemic 2019—had the foresight to set the goal of reaching more Minnesotans by improving our technology. That foresight has enabled us to make incredible strides in addressing the barriers that prevent people from accessing this unique care and support—barriers such as location, physical ability, lack of transportation or technology, or financial challenges.
When Gilda’s Club Minnesota was founded in 2014, one of 49 U.S. affiliates under the umbrella of the Cancer Support Community (CSC), we were chartered to serve only the 11 metro counties. But cancer impacts all Minnesotans, so one of the first things we did in response to the pandemic was ask the CSC to remove this parameter. Now, the only geographic borders to our care are those in the beautiful shape of Minnesota.
A Win for Statewide Health Equity
The Minnesota Department of Health’s Minnesota Cancer Alliance Plan 2025 has challenged the state’s cancer support community to improve support for everyone facing cancer. Positioning Gilda’s Club as a statewide resource does just that. As you likely know, where and how people live (the “social determinants of health”) often affect cancer rates, particularly among rural, urban, non-English speaking communities and those on tribal lands who are impacted by cancer to a greater extent yet remain underserved.
That’s why, in addition to making our programming more accessible, we also have launched a pilot initiative with the CSC called the Affordable Connectivity Program that taps the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s benefit program to provide eligible households with free wifi and a tablet so they can access Gilda’s Club services from anywhere, at any time. That means better access for people in underserved Minnesota communities—regardless of location, age, gender, cancer diagnosis, ethnicity, or race. Gilda’s Club Minnesota is the only CSC affiliate offering a program like this.
Reinvesting in and Strengthening Community
To consider this name change, we had numerous community conversations with civic organizations, companies, healthcare providers, and other nonprofits serving outstate Minnesota. The resounding feedback we received was that non-metro area folks did not feel connected to Gilda’s Club Minnesota. That presented a barrier, preventing us from providing support as fully as we know we can.
But the fact remains: Gilda’s Club is the only organization that provides free, comprehensive cancer support to Minnesotans. The past few years have shown us what is possible and how completely we can fulfill our mission of becoming the go-to place for all Minnesotans impacted by cancer—and our new name signifies this.
Plus, Gilda’ Club Minnesota, like all CSC affiliates, is funded entirely by local support. Just as we do not want our name to be a barrier to providing support, we don’t want it to be a barrier to outstate communities joining the generous fellow Minnesotans who ensure we can deliver our comprehensive program of social and emotional support in-person and online.
In 2024 alone, close to 30,000 Minnesotans will be diagnosed with cancer. But at Gilda’s Club, we know: community is stronger than cancer.
And our community is the entire state of Minnesota.
Warmly,
Katherine Todd
Executive Director
612-227-2147 main | 952-767-7620 direct
10560 Wayzata Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55305
P.S. Our official name change will take place at the start of 2024. While we’ll be updating our website, email addresses, and social media handles to reflect our new name, our current Gilda’s Club Minnesota addresses will continue to work throughout at least 2024, and some changes will take a little longer to take place – so no need to update your address book yet! We can still be found at GildasClubTwinCities.org.
