December 17,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood Nj, On Tuesday, November 15, more than 90 Women For Health group members gathered at the Ridgewood Country Club for their Annual Meeting to vote on the designation of their collective gift to Valley. This year, the members are donating $170,000 to The Valley Hospital Fertility Center’s Reach for Hope program. This gift is Women For Health’s largest gift since its inception in 2011. The Valley Hospital Fertility Center (VHFC) is committed to offering fertility preservation options for cancer patients, and their Reach for Hope Program reduces the oncology patient’s financial responsibility for her IVF cycle. This gift will provide financial assistance and hope in the form of fertility preservation options to qualified oncology patients.
This year’s gift has an additional level of meaning for the group’s philanthropic members, as they are making the gift in memory of one of their founding members who passed away in June of this year – Ann B. Alford. In addition to being a founding member of Women For Health, Mrs. Alford was an honorary trustee of The Valley Hospital Foundation and a trustee of Valley Health System. Present for this announcement were two of Mrs. Alford’s daughters, Elizabeth Hogan and Maria Suehnholz.
Formed in 2011, The Valley Hospital Foundation’s Women For Health philanthropic group has grown from 30 charter members to its current membership of 170 women, primarily from Bergen, Passaic and Rockland Counties. These women have pooled their social and philanthropic resources to assist The Valley Hospital and Valley Home Care in providing the best possible healthcare. Each year the members gather to hear presentations on three funding opportunities at Valley and then vote to determine which program will receive their collective gift.
If you are interested in becoming a member of this unique group of women philanthropists, please contact Sandy Carapezza at 201-291-6300 or acarape@valleyhospitalfoundation.org.