The saying, “It takes a village” has never rung truer for both our team at the Joe Andruzzi Foundation and patients facing a cancer diagnosis in the time of COVID-19.
In the wake of the pandemic, cancer patients and their families face ever-deepening financial barriers. Remaining household income-producers continue to face lost wages, inability to access insurance, or are forced not to work due to the risk of exposure and transmission to immunocompromised loved ones. Additionally, as support such as mortgage forbearances and rent, utility, and tax moratoriums come to an end, cancer patients and families perched on the financial brink are struggling exponentially to cover these costs.
In addition to its devastating impact on patients and families facing cancer, like many non-profit organizations, COVID-19 has severely curtailed JAF’s traditional fundraising efforts. Without adequate funding to support our program services, JAF will soon face disruptions in our ability to deliver critical support for the increased need of cancer patients, their families, and caregivers throughout the COVID-19 fallout and beyond.
Truly understanding the significant impact JAF has within the cancer community, Empower Retirement has once again stepped forward to provide a lifeline to JAF and those we serve.
As the nation’s second-largest retirement plan provider, Empower Retirement understands the importance of financial stability for individuals and families. “Empower is focused on transforming how people manage their finances so that they can reach their goals and achieve the retirement freedom they dream about,” says Edmund F. Murphy III, President and CEO of Empower Retirement.
With this fundamental value of helping individuals and families to achieve greater financial security, Empower has partnered with the Joe Andruzzi Foundation to sponsor our foundation’s 2020 JAF Bridge Builder monthly giving program. This critical program provides steady, reliable income, allowing JAF to grant families facing cancer with the financial support they need to be able to stay in their homes, keep their heat and lights on, get to their medical appointments or purchase food during treatment.
“At Empower Retirement, our mission is to work with our customers to build secure futures with their unique circumstances and needs in mind. Our community partners are a crucial piece to ensuring these healthy futures are attainable for all,” Angie Ruddell, Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Empower Retirement told us recently. “We are proud to partner with the Joe Andruzzi Foundation and return as JAF Bridge Builders Presenting Sponsor to help cancer patients and their families navigate financial barriers and focus on their long term goal of getting well. JAF’s work is critical, especially in these uncertain times, and we are thrilled to support cancer patients and families on their health journeys.”
Please join myself and the entire JAF community in thanking Empower Retirement for their generosity and commitment to cancer patients in need. We’re so lucky to have them in our ‘village’.
