A private foundation begun in 1980 to help Whatcom County cancer patients pay their medical expenses will fold at the end of this month, but its mission will live on as a fund at St. Luke's Foundation beginning Aug. 1.
Named after the late Bellingham pathologist Theresa Laurendeau, whose estate provided much of the funding, the Laurendeau Foundation has spent close to $1 million to help more than 500 people who weren't eligible for public assistance or had limited resources.
But the board for the foundation had struggled in recent years to raise money, and last July had said it would close within months without an infusion of cash. It got that after The Bellingham Herald ran a story, enough to keep the foundation going for another year.
To continue helping cancer patients, the board turned to St. Luke's Foundation.
"Organizations have their own lifetime. Some continue on and on. After 31 years, this is it for Laurendeau," said Ron Snyder, an Everson-area resident and president of the foundation's board.
Last July, the Bellingham nonprofit cut expenses to save money, including shutting down its website. The board couldn't also cut the number of employees, because there was just one, Kay Faulkner, the foundation's longtime office manager who worked just one day a week.
Aging board members also said then that they needed new volunteers with the energy to focus on fundraising.
Laurendeau's closing created mixed feelings.
"There's sadness, but also I'm very, very happy the patients are going to be taken care of," Faulkner said.
Funding for Laurendeau Foundation will just about be exhausted by the time it becomes a fund at St. Luke's.
To support what will be the Laurendeau Cancer Care Fund, St. Luke's will launch a matching gift campaign in September, which is being made possible through the help of a generous local donor.
And the Whatcom Alliance for Healthcare Access will provide the initial screening for potential clients, according to St. Luke's officials.
St. Luke's Foundation, founded in 1983 with the sale of St. Luke's Hospital, has provided more than $14.5 million to support health-related programs and services in Whatcom County.
To donate to the Laurendeau Cancer Care Fund or to apply for help, contact St. Luke's at 360-671-1134, or go online to stlukesfoundation.org.
