It’s Always Something: Watch Us Grow
Gilda Radner inspired the term “It’s Always Something” as she courageously confronted the challenges of cancer. After Gilda passed from ovarian cancer in 1989, her psychotherapist Joanna Bull, her husband Gene Wilder, and friends opened the first Gilda’s Club in New York City in 1991, helping to fulfill Gilda’s wishes that no one would face cancer alone.
Our part of the story begins in 1999, when a delegation from the Twin Cities attended the first Gilda’s Club Worldwide (GCWW) Annual Meeting held in Nashville, where they gathered initial information regarding the work of Gilda’s Clubs. From those inspired roots, a small “Friends of Gilda’s Club Twin Cities” campaign began to raise seed money to cover 501(c)(3) filing fees. In the years that followed, our four founders—Jenni Lilledahl, Dolly Lowery, Carrie Puterbaugh, and Valerie Martinson—all touched by cancer, connected our community with a clear vision to open a Gilda’s Club in the Twin Cities.
By 2005, the Gilda’s Club Twin Cities founding board of directors was formed, official 501(c)(3) papers were completed, and a Medical Resource Committee was formed. Importantly, a needs assessment and initial community support survey revealed that there was no single place in the Twin Cities where all people touched by cancer could go for social and emotional support—an essential complement to comprehensive medical care. The founders worked to fill this critical social, emotional, and psychological support gap in the Twin Cities that research from The Institute of Medicine (IOM) confirms is a critical piece of comprehensive medical treatment, but it is an often neglected aspect of cancer treatment.
By 2009 the first full-time Executive Director was hired and in 2010 a $3.8 million campaign was launched to build the Clubhouse, raising an impressive $2.3 million with an additional $1.5 million acquired in in-kind donations related to the design and build-out.
Gilda’s Club Twin Cities opened its doors in April 2014, and we are proud to be celebrating our 10th Anniversary this year! Exciting changes have happened over the last 10 years, thanks to the incredible support Gilda’s Club has had from this community. Since opening our doors for the first time we have grown significantly in both membership and reach, and this year we are excited to announce that we are now Gilda’s Club Minnesota, reaching more friends and neighbors facing cancer in our state than ever before.
We want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who helped us to grow to the place we are now. We would also like to invite you to celebrate with us at our 10th Anniversary Gala this April 18th and ask you to join us as we extend our hands to support our neighbors and friends facing cancer throughout Minnesota. This is our chapter to write, an important opportunity to ensure that every Minnesotan is supported on their cancer journey, and once again, we need your help to continue growing.
Warmly,
Katherine Todd
Executive Director
612-227-2147 main | 952-767-7620 direct
10560 Wayzata Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55305
