The Nobody Fights Alone program at Sentara Obici Hospital is a treasure worth keeping for our community.

This program gets all of its money through donations and uses them on the ground floor of the fight against cancer. It helps cancer patients at the hospital and their families pay for transportation to and from treatments and medical appointments, which is often an added expense at a time most people can ill afford such a thing. It also provides meals for the families and helps with limited utilities support, so a family fighting cancer doesn’t have to choose between paying for medication and paying the power bill.

Two local churches recently made a donation to the program with the proceeds of their annual Cancer Awareness Walk last October. Throughout the three years of the walk, Metropolitan Baptist Church and Healing Chapel Baptist Church have raised $3,900.

That’s a lot of rides, meals, utility payments and other support that have been a blessing to so many fighting cancer in our community. And, like many who get involved in fundraising for the fight, they were inspired by family members fighting cancer themselves.

When the churches first started the walk, Sharon Daughtrey’s sister, Michelle Faulk, was fighting cancer. Her best friend, Monica Lassiter, had a cousin, Rosenna Boone, who was fighting cancer. Daughtrey was a member of Metropolitan, and Lassiter was a member of Healing Chapel, and they decided to bring their congregations together for this important cause.

The fight against cancer is important at all levels. While the government and many large, well-known nonprofit organizations are pouring millions into research and education, Nobody Fights Alone is at the grassroots level, fighting tooth and nail with every dollar to pay for enough gas for people to get to treatments or pay for meals for them to keep up their strength.

Nobody Fights Alone, and the support it has received from Metropolitan and Healing Chapel, is the kind of community action we like to see.