Meet the SOPF Board Member - Toni Grinnan

In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors, it is my good luck to also serve on the Shades of Pink Foundation Client Services Committee. Having practiced law for may years, I thought I knew plenty about people’s troubles, but as a volunteer reviewing our clients’ applications, I have learned just how quickly life can change and our orderly lives can be upended.

An individual can be moving smoothly through life, succeeding at their job, caring for their family, paying bills, and saving and planning for the future. And then, along comes a breast cancer diagnosis that throws all of that into chaos. Treatment and side effects may make it difficult to work and so suddenly there is no regular paycheck, or even no paycheck at all. The kids still need to be fed, cared for, and taken to school but treatment and illness can make these tasks overwhelming. Even for the well insured, medical co-pays can mount rapidly, and at the same time the regular household bills keep coming: the mortgage or rent, the car payment, the utility bills, the insurance premiums.

It’s not uncommon for our clients, by the time they find their way to us, to be close to having their electricity or water shut off or be under threat of eviction.  That’s where SOPF, because of your support, helps individuals in our community who are struggling due to a breast cancer diagnosis.

I am so proud to be part of Shades of Pink Foundation.

In a later blog entry, I’ll tell you the stories of just a couple of our clients and how SOPF was able to turn their lives around.