COLON CANCER COALITION SUPPORTS COLONTOWN'S PATIENT AND CAREGIVER "CABINET"
October 10, 2021 —PALTOWN announced today that the Colon Cancer Coalition has awarded a $15,000 grant with funds raised through a Blue Moon Gala to support a novel Cabinet leadership model for the volunteers who run the day-to-day operations of the more than 120 “neighborhoods” in PALTOWN’s colorectal cancer community, COLONTOWN.
A virtual peer-to-peer community serving the needs of over 6,500 colorectal patients, survivors, and caregivers, COLONTOWN pioneered the unique model of specialized “neighborhoods” focused on different aspects of the cancer experience led by members with the same shared
experience. All of COLONTOWN’s Community Leaders are patients or caregivers, often juggling active treatment, family obligations, and work.
This grant will support the COLONTOWN Cabinet, a small team of dedicated patients and caregivers providing daily oversight of all aspects of the community, from infrastructure to governance to mentoring and new program development.
Envisioned and created by the member volunteers of COLONTOWN in 2020, the Cabinet creates a template for community management that PALTOWN can use as it launches new disease communities in the future.
“We are grateful to the Colon Cancer Coalition for recognizing the unique value of patient-powered communities like COLONTOWN,” according to Lindsey Musick, Mayor of COLONTOWN. “Having a designated Cabinet of patients and caregivers to lead our community and manage day-to-day operations and challenges will help position us for continued growth.”
“We are thrilled to see COLONTOWN growing and thriving under the leadership of its new volunteer Cabinet,” says Chris Evans, president of the Colon Cancer Coalition. “COLONTOWN represents the lived and shared experience of a true patient-centric community and we are proud to support their volunteers in this unique patient-driven leadership model.”
About PALTOWN
PALTOWN is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing information needs and social isolation through training, technology, and purpose-driven community leadership. PALTOWN is committed to expanding its unique model of online peer-to-peer health communities to provide hope and empowerment to patients in the CRC space and across other disease states. COLONTOWN, founded in 2011 by a stage III CRC patient, is the first disease community under the umbrella of PALTOWN.
Contact:
Susan Wysoki, Interim Executive Director, PALTOWN
804-221-7084
[email protected]
About the Colon Cancer Coalition
The Colon Cancer Coalition is a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minn. dedicated to encouraging screening and raising awareness of colorectal cancer. The organization’s
signature Get Your Rear in Gear ® and Tour de Tush ® event series are volunteer-driven in communities throughout the United States. Money raised at these events are granted back into local communities to help build and sustain programs and research encouraging early prevention, screening, and patient support for this disease. By making the words colon,
colorectal and colonoscopy a part of the everyday language, we believe we can overcome the fear and decrease deaths from this largely preventable cancer.
For more information visit ColonCancerCoalition.org