75 Delta families enjoy Christmas dinners thanks to USM’s Mississippi Network for Cancer Control and the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation 

An annual holiday dinner giveaway for Mississippi Delta cancer patients tripled its impact this year thanks to the generosity of sponsors and donors.

 The Mississippi Network for Cancer Control/University of Southern Mississippi and the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation provided 75 recently diagnosed cancer patients and underserved populations in the Mississippi Delta with a Christmas dinner this holiday season. 

 For the past several years, the organizations have teamed up to assist 25 families. However, in response to increasing requests (due to the loss of jobs and the COVID pandemic), the organizations worked to increase donations this year.

 “As you know, December is one of the most joyous times of the year.  During the holiday season, families and friends flock together to celebrate and fellowship over a delicious meal,” said Freddie White-Johnson, director of the MNCC and founder/president of the FLHCF. “However, when battling cancer, the joy of the season can be tarnished with the stress associated with cancer.”

 According to White-Johnson, receiving treatment for cancer can be expensive, time consuming and exhausting.  In addition, those receiving cancer treatment are often left to face a myriad of symptoms and side effects, including loss of appetite, pain or poor immune system.  

 “While juggling these side effects day-to-day can be challenging in itself, it becomes increasingly more difficult to enjoy the holidays traditions,” she explained. 

 In an effort to provide support and bring holiday cheer to local cancer patients and their family, the organizations provided 75 patients with Christmas meals.  The dinner can feed up to eight people per household, generating a total impact of 600 individuals.

 The selected recipients for a Christmas meal were from the following counties:  Leflore, Bolivar, Carroll, Holmes, Humphreys, Montgomery, Sunflower, and Washington.

 “Many of these families are experiencing hardship from not only cancer but COVID too,” said White-Johnson.  “We are very grateful to assist these individuals and their families during their time of need. Thank you to everyone who have supported our efforts.”

 White-Johnson said both the Mississippi Network for Cancer Control/University of Southern Mississippi and the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation are committed to serving the Delta region. 

 “Together, we are having a profound impact in the lives of many underserved men and women throughout the state of Mississippi, especially here in the rural Mississippi Delta where resources are so few and people are dying prematurely. We have our boots on the ground fighting cancer, poverty and now COVID-19,” she said. 

 The dinners were sponsored by the Mississippi Network for Cancer Control/The University of Southern Mississippi and the Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation in collaboration with the Greenwood Community and Recreation Center, Inc.; Locust Grove Missionary Baptist Church of Greenwood; Harlow’s Casino Resort & Spa; Marcus Johnson (former NFL player, Minnesota Viking #72); Greenwood Marketplace; staff members at the National Patient Advocacy Foundation in Washington, D.C; and more than 30 donors who made donation via mail, social media and online at www.flhcf.com.