REGIONAL – In recent months, Solace for Stephanie has helped 10 people who are struggling with cancer and finding it hard to pay their bills.
They include a woman, suffering with ovarian cancer since 2022. She had to quit work. Her husband has continued his work, but the loss of her income forced them to use credit cards to get by. Solace helped with a donation.
She was one of 117 cancer victims that the organization has helped since it started in 2010. It has also handed out 20 college scholarships to students.
Other beneficiaries of the organization, born after beloved Rowley hairdresser Stephanie Jenkins, died of cancer, are:
- A career postman in his 60s who developed a brain tumor.
- An 80-year-old painter.
- A couple, who are longtime supporters of Solace, has a brother with lung cancer.
- A 28-year-old nurse at Mass General Hospital has breast cancer.
A 43-year-old woman with terminal cancer was given five or six months to live. The doctors changed her treatment, but recently they discovered tumors throughout her body.
A young woman, who worked at TJ Maxx in Rowley, had to give up her job when she developed breast cancer and had to undergo aggressive chemo therapy for the last five months.
Eve, who developed cancer at two years old, has been a longtime beneficiary of Solace. The girl, whose grandmother was a cousin of Stephanie, was in remission until recently at four years when the cancer returned. She is now on the advance CAR-T therapy.
A woman, who was an early supporter of Solace, has had cancer for six years. She has recently developed oral cancer.
Stephanie’s son, Danny Jenkins, who is on the board of the charitable organization, heard that a high school classmate has a three-year-old daughter with optical cancer. He brought her to the attention of the organization.
If you wonder how a small organization of Stephanie’s family and friends do it, the answer is simple. Over the last 14 years, the organization has built a broad base of support that come together once a year to raise money and laugh with some of the region’s best comedians.
Its annual Comedy Night, which is usually sold out, will be held this year on Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Topsfield Fairground. The comedians will be headed by Paul Gilligan, who has been making crowds laugh to help with their cancer for years. He will be joined by Ken Rogerson and Dave Decker.
Of the hundreds of supporters, MaryAnn (Mo) Levasseur, a friend of Stephanie and leader of the organization, said, “They sustain me. They keep me uplifted.” She said she always impressed with the support the organization gets. “We’ve created a community. People come (to Comedy Night) to see their friends and laugh with the comedians. We bond together.”
A local business networking group, BNI, which Levasseur belongs to, has adopted Solace and recently held a toy drive. One of the toys went to cheer up little Eve, Levasseur said.
Last year, the comedy night raised $25,000 in one night to support Solace’s efforts.
In a wrap-up letter to the hundreds of “angels,” who participated in the Comedy Night Levasseur wrote: “Whether it was hands on behind the scenes, to purchasing a ticket, to sending a donation, to sponsoring a gift card, to volunteering that night. We could go on and on. YOU made the difference.”
Save the Date, Levasseur asks. The event included dinner by Dinner Ala Cart and a full bar, plus a ton of laughs – all for a good cause.
For more information or get involved, visit www.solaceforstephanie.org.
