Hy-Vee raising funds for MercyOne Newton cancer clinic

Newton Hy-Vee has partnered with MercyOne Newton Medical Center for a round up campaign in support of the cancer clinic at the hospital. Shoppers are given the option to round up their total amount through Oct. 15 with all of the funds raised staying here in Newton.

“Every person that comes in is asked if they want to round up their grocery bill to the next whole dollar with those funds being donated to the cancer clinic,” MercyOne Newton Foundation and Missions Manager Leisa Zylstra said.

Cancer touches a lot of people’s lives and there is a lot of community support involved with helping those individuals and their families. That is where the partnership between Hy-Vee, and MercyOne Newton comes in to help those in need.

“I approached Rick Morr, the store manager at Hy-Vee with the idea to ask if they would be willing to partner with us to do some sort of a fundraiser during the month of October to benefit our cancer clinic,” Zylstra said.

Morr added, “The cancer unit at the MercyOne Newton clinic does a phenomenal job.”

According to the National Cancer Institute website, in 2018 more than 1.7 million cases of new cancer were diagnosed in the United States and more than 600,000 people are estimated to ultimately die from the disease.

People in Newton may be unaware the local hospital is equipped to treat cancer patients and the clinic has been in operation for more than 30 years. It began with Dr. Tom Buroker treating patients in the emergency room and has evolved in services and location.

Not only did Newton Hy-Vee partner with the clinic to raise funds, the store also invited staff from MercyOne Newton and members from the Pink Ribbon Support Group, which is a breast cancer support group, to be guest baggers Friday. This allowed staff to personally thank Hy-Vee shoppers for donating to the cause.

“(Hy-Vee) does a lot of stuff in the community to raise funds that ultimately they donate to our cancer clinic ... Some of them are cancer survivors,” Zylstra said.

The round up campaign is a great opportunity to gain exposure in the community that MercyOne Newton own cancer clinic. It allows local customers the chance to raise funds for a cause that affects the local community members and their families who are battling cancer.

“MercyOne Newton is thankful to Rick and Hy-Vee for recognizing the important work that our cancer clinic is doing in the community and for them wanting to support our efforts through this fundraiser” Zylstra said.

Morr added, “Thanks to (MercyOne Newton) for being a great partner with the clinic and for giving us the opportunity to help them raise some money for a very important wing of their hospital.”

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com