Giving a home to those fighting cancer

Published 7:53 am Monday, April 12, 2010

Joe Lee Griffin Hope Lodge’s name speaks for itself. It is a place that gives hope to those fighting cancer that come to the Birmingham area. The lodge not only offers lodging to patients and their families who undergo treatment far from home, but also provides a supportive environment.

The Hope Lodge’s mission is “to provide a temporary housing solution for out-of-town cancer patients who are undergoing cancer treatment in the Birmingham area hospitals. Lodging is also provided for the caregivers. The Hope Lodge provides free housing and transportation services to all residents. However, residents are responsible for their meals, caring for themselves and maintaining their rooms.”

When it comes to meals, that is where area organizations become involved and Relay for Life for the Leeds/Moody area are working to do their part.

Not only does the money raised at the Relay for Life event in Moody go towards funding Hope Lodge, but a number of volunteers, teams and the Relay for Life committee visit the location yearly to provide a warm meal and a open heart.

Chris Fraser, a member of Moody’s Blue Crew at Moody High School, said that visiting Hope Lodge makes him realize why he is involved for Relay for Life. “I relay overall for the people I have lost and the hope of finding a cure,” he said. “However, I realize Relay for Life isn’t always about finding a cure. It is about treatment and Hope Lodge is all about treatment.”

 He has visited Hope Lodge with Moody High School’s Blue Crew and Cooking for a Cure twice and looks forward to another visit on April 20. “We are going to be grilling out,” he said. “It’s going to be nice. My father, Robert, will be barbecuing.”

Chris said the Cooking for a Cure team puts together a menu every year and that they make some amazing food.  “Their biscuits are great,” he said.

“I love pitching in and helping,” he added. “I want to make their lives better. It is a terrible illness and I want to do all I can to help them.”

In the past, MHS students have also sang and played music during the visit. Chris said he enjoys sitting down and lending an ear to those fighting their battle.  “It is amazing what you hear,” he said. “It is the stories that mean the most.”

MHS Blue Crew’s sponsor Terrie Brasher said visiting Hope Lodge is something that brings realization to those involved. “Once you see the patients you really realize why you are doing it and what the people are going through,” she said. “The kids relate to that more than just raising money. It becomes personal.”

The MHS teams made a visit to the lodge in February. Terrie said before the students even got to the car when they were leaving, they had saw the grills and begged to go back when the weather got a little warmer. “They get that excited about it,” she said.

Chris’s entire family has been involved with Relay for Life in one way or another. His mother, Melissa, is on the Relay for Life Committee and has also had a chance to visit Hope Lodge. “Our committee went this year and we had a pot luck dinner,” she said. “We went in November. The committee goes every year and we always look forward to it.”

“Relay for Life and visiting Hope Lodge is a good experience,” Chris said. “It gives you good values, good morals and at the same time you are helping people. That makes you feel good, but not in a selfish way. I do it because of love. Love for my grandparents and others.” 

The Hope Lodge in Birmingham is the only one in the state. Over 3,000 families have stayed at the location since it’s opening over a decade ago.

The lodge recently celebrated its 10th birthday and it is an outstanding facility for those fighting such a terrible disease.

For more information about the Joe Lee Griffin Hope Lodge visit www.cancer.org.