
Mary Jenkins is the Founder and CEO of Cancer Option Collaborative. She is also a Cancer Patient Advocate and a Motivational Speaker. She is a 2x Breast cancer survivor who experienced the emotional and financial challenges associated with the world of cancer first-hand. Thus, the CEO was created – to help others succeed on their road to recovery.
The Susan G. Komen Foundation celebrated her with the Pat Hughes Award of Inspiration. She was recognized as a Hero for Hope by FUZE Beverage Corporation. The Increase Community Development Corporation named her Nonprofit Micro Entrepreneur of the Year and Alumnus of the Year. She has received the Jefferson Award nomination as a top 20 finalist out of a pool of 140 organizations. The business publication, Business First, gave her honorable mention as the Healthcare Hero for “Care to the Underserved” and in January 2012 she was named one of “20 Outstanding Women to Know”
Know more about Mary and the COC here:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryjenkins7/
- Website: https://www.thecoccares.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecoccares
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecoccares/
Click To Read The Transcript
Mary Jenkins Shares her Heartwarming & Inspirational Underdog Story of Conquering Cancer
Pamela Bardhi
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of underdog. Today I have an incredible guest here with me, Mary, how are you?
Mary Jenkins
I’m doing fantastic. How are you doing today?
Pamela Bardhi
I am doing lovely. Life is beautiful. You have such a remarkable story. And I cannot wait to get into that and hear all about you and your awesomeness. Your organization and what you’re up to in the world and just how you’re changing lives left to right. So I’m just super excited to have you here today, Mary. And of course, I start off with the most loaded question of all time, of what inspired you on your journey to where you are today.
Mary Jenkins
Whoo, wait, what inspired me was the fact that I knew, I wasn’t the only one dealing with what I was dealing with. That literally became my inspiration from the very beginning. I knew I wasn’t the only one and someone had to do something. And so I became that someone.
Pamela Bardhi
And I know you’ve told me the story. It’s remarkable. Can you walk me through your journey a little bit?
Mary Jenkins
Altay my youngest son, Jerry, who we call BJ, he and I were wrestling when he was like 1314 years old. And he accidentally elbowed me in the chest and was in my right breast. When he elbowed me It hurt and I was like, Man, this really, really hurts. So I ended up going to the emergency room and the ER doctor was like. I think I feel something but I’m not sure, so he had me go get a mammogram. Because I was only 38 years old, I hadn’t reached that age of 40 to actually get a test. So I went and got the mammogram done and when they did it, it’s like, oh. We think we see something and then we want to get a measurement. Then we need to biopsy it, just to be sure.
And so what they saw was a mass that was almost five centimeters. if you can imagine a softball and have the center of it is really hard. But you can’t feel the center unless you dig down into it. That’s the way the mass was, it was literally in the center of my wrist. You couldn’t feel it unless you dug down into it. So when they squished me, that’s when they saw it. And they took the biopsy and ended up being stage three, almost stage four, invasive ductal carcinoma, triple-negative. That meant my only options were aggressive chemo, surgery, and then radiation. So they wanted me to have my right breast removed right away. But I was like, I can’t do that because I kind of love my girl.
So I just want to keep her as long as I can. Like, if she’s got to go, let me hold on to her at least as long as I can. Let’s try to do something. And so we postponed my surgery and I started aggressive chemo. While I was going through the chemo, I was incredibly sick. But I was like, I can still make it because I am strong. I’m Superwoman, I can make it, I can do it. And I was still trying to go to work. But I was throwing up at work. There were a couple times when my employer found me curled up in the bathroom on the floor. I still have bills to pay, because I’m a single parent and if I don’t go to work, how am I gonna pay the bills.
And you know, by the time the second chemo treatment rolled around, my employer was like, Mary, we need to talk. Because you’re not feeling well, and you spend a lot of time in the bathroom. So maybe it would be better if you just focused on recovering your head. I was like, I understand and they’re like, so today’s your last day and I was like. Okay, I don’t know why I thought that you know, they were going to still pay me. But I didn’t connect the dots, that I was being let go being fired, and wouldn’t have a paycheck. And so as time went on, roll into the month rolled around and it was time. You know, bills were going to come due and I’m like, Oh, my God, what am I going to do?
And so at the time, I was starting to volunteer with the Komen Foundation. Because I was like, Okay, I’m a breast cancer survivor. I was all about the Race for the Cure pink ribbon, whoo, call me foundation. So I’m gonna, you know, I’m going to volunteer with him and I learned about them. And so when the time came that I needed financial assistance, I went to them and asked them for help. That’s when I learned that they didn’t use the resources that they raised to help in the way that I needed help. That it funded research, treatment, and awareness which are great.
But I needed help with the rent, the electricity, the gas, the water, the car, note the car insurance itself. Phone bill, cable bill, buying food. That’s what I needed help with and that’s just something that they didn’t provide. Where does a person go to? And that sent me on a journey from the American Cancer Society to live strong to the different places just trying to find help. I couldn’t find the help that I needed, I mean, I even went and applied for unemployment, I couldn’t get employment. Because I hadn’t been unemployed long enough, so it was like, oh, man, what am I going to do?
So I went to church. And a lot of times people say when they’re in trouble, they turn to God. Well, I’m always turning to God, because I’m in ministry. But this time, I was praying to God, but on a whole different scale. Because I couldn’t understand how I was getting ready to lose everything. And so I overheard a heated conversation with God and the leadership team in the back of the church. My pastor came out and was like, MJ, what’s going on? So I explained the situation and they’re like, you know, you’ve been a member in good standing. You’re a tiger, you love the ministry. The ministry loves you, you volunteer.
How about we let the church take care of your bills for you the rest of the time that you’re in treatment. And I was like, that is such a blessing. Oh, thank you. So I’m boohoo cry, like, Oh, my God, thank you so much. But what about everybody else, what about the other breast cancer patients that are going through the same thing? What about them? Who’s going to help them? And they didn’t have an answer for that. But I was like, somebody’s got to let people know where money does and doesn’t go. What this huge gap is, somebody’s got to be the one to let people know and they’re like, right. Oh, you mean me? I’m not me and sure enough, that became me.
And I started telling people where money didn’t go and people were like. I had no idea, I thought that when we give to like St. Jude, I thought that that money would actually help the families. Like all it does, but it helps me in a different way. Because it helps the kids to get treatment, no cost, but it doesn’t go towards electric gas. Things of that nature at home and just being able to educate people.
They’re like, well, I want to give money to you. Absolutely, we’ll take the donations, thank you and I said. Because my church is paying my bills for me. So you know, I’ll take it and find someone else to give it to and that’s what I would do. I was receiving donations and was giving them to other people and it just has been absolutely amazing. Because I had no idea how huge the need was, I had no idea what I was creating at the time. And you know, 15 years later, I’m still doing it.
Pamela Bardhi
Oh, my goodness, what a beautiful journey. What a beautiful journey that it’s been for you. And I mean, I just love your selflessness. So like, when you were getting that love, you’re like, Okay, how do I give that to somebody else? You know, you have such a special spirit, for your servitude to others, which you admire so much. And I love it so much, so how did you go about creating the organization? Because now you started getting a lot of donations and a lot of need.
Mary Jenkins
Tell you, I had no idea what I was doing. I mean, I used to hear things like you gotta have an elevator pitch. What’s that I was working in a call center-type environment, I was answering phones and making phone calls, I wasn’t trying to run a business. All I knew is that I had this money and when I would go to treatment. I would hear other people talking about the problems that they had. And so I would just give them money. You know, why not? Because I got it. This will speak for him. So let me help them out.
And this one section, I knew there was a woman and she was having chemo treatment and her husband. Or it was a man that was kneeling beside her and I’m looking at this couple and I’m seeing him crying. I mean, he’s bawling his eyes out. And I’m like, this is kind of odd, but let me pay attention. So when I finished my chemo, they unhooked me and sashayed over to introduce myself. Because just that friendly person I was like, Hi, I just seen you’re crying and I’m so sorry, but I’m sure it’s gonna be okay. Cuz, you know, God’s got you. But you know, it’s just so hard. So difficult enough, so what’s wrong?
Then he explained to me that his wife almost had an allergic reaction to the chemo. So what they would do normally is after she began treatment, they would stay overnight and then leave the next day. And this time, they didn’t have any money, so he didn’t have the money to pay for a hotel room. He couldn’t tell there was nobody that was willing to give them a hotel room at no cost. So he had just got done telling his wife that he was sorry for not being able to take care of her. And that they were going to have to sleep in the car overnight.
So of course, you know, here you go here and I reached my first. Because I just kept the money that people gave me I would just carry around. I just reached in my purse and I was like you. Here you go. God bless you gave him I gave him a hug. He was like, Oh my god. And when I walked away, I could do this for the rest of my life and I had no idea what I was saying. But I was like, I don’t know how to do it, but I’m gonna do it. Then I went and I found an elevator to practice the elevator pitch or elevator speech. Because it was like, okay, supposed to do it, we’ll do it between floors. And so I was riding the elevator up and down.
So I figured out what I was gonna say and this guy got on the elevator. And he told me he was like, what do you do? I don’t remember, I wasn’t really paying attention. I’m just talking and he gave me his business card. And he ended up actually being vice president of a foundation when you guys get it together. Let’s talk and so I went home and I looked it up, 501, C, three. All right, I don’t know what I’m doing. But I’m about to apply for this thing so that I can get big dollars and people can get tax breaks and all that. I’m about to do all this.
And so it has literally been a lot of prayers, well, this is what needs to happen next. Okay. Well, this is what needs to happen and it has been an absolutely incredible journey. Because for us to be going through treatment, to being 15 years old and to have provided services literally around the world. If you couldn’t have told me that was going to be my story.
Pamela Bardhi
That’s unreal. And so 15 years in and do you have stats on how many people that you’ve served throughout the years?
Mary Jenkins
Oh, gosh, so we have three programs for our goal. Our mission is to help cancer patients succeed on their road to recovery through awareness, emotional support, and financial assistance. So between awareness and emotional support, there have been well over a million people that we have spoken with through the years. When it comes down to financial assistance, we’ve raised over 500,000 and we provided services in all 50 states. We have contacts with organizations in other countries.
First time we went International, it was crazy, because here’s what happened. We were providing services to just breast cancer patients. When we were four months old, we got a referral from a woman that had cervical cancer. And I told her, we couldn’t help her, because she had the wrong type of cancer, which is crazy. What’s the right type of cancer, so I missed it, so we need to change our mission to include all cancers. So I talked to my board and explained that and they were like, you know what, Mary, you’re right.
And I was like, right, in my mind. I mentioned Columbus, Ohio, but we didn’t say that. We’re gonna change our mission to include all cancer patients. And then they started coming from Cincinnati and Toledo and Cleveland. I was like, Okay, I can’t say they have to be living in Columbus. So we’ll figure it out and then, they started coming from Georgia and Texas to New York and Michigan and California. Okay, I can’t say you have to be from Ohio. So we get to figure it out. We’re well able.
We got our first application from Collingswood, Ontario, Canada and I was like, Oh my God, we are international, What in the world? And then from there through the years, we’ve gotten them from Mexico, from England, Turkey, from Germany, from Australia, from India, from Ghana, from South Africa. I mean, it’s just been so many and we’re like, What in the world? Us? Lumo. Us, we don’t have millions of dollars yet, but we’re doing it because we get referrals from the American Cancer Society.
We get them from Coleman, we get it from lift strong, we get them from MD Anderson, your major hospitals, we get it from St. Jude, we get them from the Veterans Administration. And we’re like, You gotta be kidding me. How did all these people find out about us? Like, when did that happen? But people are finding out about us from everywhere. Okay, the demands for our services are getting greater. Which means we just need greater support. And pandemic last year, which some organisations didn’t make it through last year, but I am thankful that we did.
Pamela Bardhi
That’s incredible. What a journey of it just exploding to an international level, completely unintended Lee. Because it was just like your heart and your spirit. Oh, my gosh, very. I’m curious because I really want to ask you this. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Mary Jenkins
Okay. Matej, so when I was little, I wanted to be a mortician. And the reason I’m telling you why I wanted to be a mortician is so that I wouldn’t have to talk to people. Because I didn’t like to talk in front of people. I’ve wanted to be someplace where I could just be in silence and do what I have to do. So I wanted to be a mortician.
Pamela Bardhi
Because you’re so open and outgoing, that’s hysterical. That’s so cool and I know. I mean, there’s definitely people listening or that either is experiencing this. Or have other people that are experiencing this around them that they know of their family members, loved ones, what have you. And you know that while the word cancer has hit all of us, someway, somehow and a lot of the time it’s within our own families. You know, just I mean, the numbers are insane.
And when you first got diagnosed with breast cancer. How did you sort of cope with that and how did you sort of overcome that to have such a warrior mentality? Because I think that it’s so key. Anybody who gets some type of news of any type of disease, right, you know, it’s almost. I think there’s two options, you can either shut down or keep going. And you know and so I’m always interested to know you, how did you overcome that? That barrier,
Mary Jenkins
Right. So as I said, I’ve been in ministry for 30 years and I’m always paying attention. The stories of the people back when and all the stuff they did. And there’s a gentleman, smith Wigglesworth and he was known, you know. In the faith community, to be like a general of faith and I was like that. I’m trying to have faith like that and so when it happened to me. When I got diagnosed with cancer, I had no idea that there were going to be people that were watching the way that I would respond. And so I was like, Okay, this is an opportunity for me to exercise my faith.
So that I mean, I was literally like, I’m just my whole mindset. My mindset shifted to, I’m about to exercise my faith, I am going to walk by faith and not by sight. I’m going to speak faith, I’m going to talk faith. No matter what I’m going through, I’m going to encourage people, I’m going to let the love of God show through me. Even in the midst of everything that I’m dealing with. Had no idea that it literally changed the world.
Pamela Bardhi
It literally is and that’s why I was asking, I’m like. Why did she, throughout this experience, just hold your head so high. And it’s just so remarkable how you just selflessly just give it and that you give it all to God too. I just admire that so much. Because it takes so much heart to do that and especially in the most difficult times. That’s how you can really determine character. And just even in your response to when you were being given how you automatically just wanted to give that right back.
Mary Jenkins
Yeah, cuz it’s like, so many times we think about just ourselves, like, Oh, my God this is what I’m dealing with. Oh, there’s nobody else to deal with. And I was like, I know for a fact that I’m not the only one. I know, I’m not the only one. This doesn’t make any sense to me. How there’s millions and millions and millions of dollars that’s raised. And how can people have to make this decision and what made it even so bad? I didn’t even understand the magnitude of it then. Because then I was just thinking about breast cancer patients.
I didn’t even know about the other cancers, prostate cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, childhood cancers, leukemia lymphoma, you know. Gliomas, which is brain cancer, I was like, I didn’t even know I wasn’t even thinking that I was just breast cancer. They were talking about cutting off my girl. And they told me that I’d be lucky if I survived five years. That’s all I was thinking. But I had no idea and then I found out and had it unveiled. Because, I mean, think about this single parent, the child gets diagnosed with cancer. Child gets put in the hospital for treatment, where’s the parent going to be? The parents shouldn’t have to make a decision about whether or not I should go to work? Or should I be at the hospital?
There are people who have children battling cancer right now that are making a decision. That they are leaving their child at the hospital to go to work. Because they don’t have somebody that can be there. They don’t have anything they don’t know about us yet. And it’s like, oh, man and that’s real. Or, you know, what about being a single parent and the parent gets diagnosed with cancer. And can’t go to work and have kids like me. I know when I went through it, that’s real and then you figure that there are some, you know. Say you have a mom-and-dad household. Dad gets it and that’s the breadwinner. He’s the good man in the house and provider and then he gets diagnosed with cancer.
And we literally had men that have gotten diagnosed with cancer and literally considered not going through treatment. Because that meant they’d have to take off work and they wouldn’t be able to provide for their family. And I realized that if you do not go through this treatment, there’s a strong chance that you will die and they’re like, I know. But I can’t let my family suffer.
And that’s to me, that just floors me all the time when I hear the different stories. I’m like, man, there was a 19-year-old girl from Florida. I mean, I get emotional, I remember when she applied. We had changed everything to be able to apply online. 19 years old, she applied. And she wanted to know if we would help her parents pay her bills. Because she had terminal cancer. She was asking if, after she died, would we help her, her parents so that they would not have to suffer?
You talk about messed up, I was completely messed up for a few days. Because I was like, This baby is battling cancer. And asking if we will help her parents pay their bills after she dies. That’s unheard of. But that’s real and that’s just one of there so many stories. If I just wrote I could write a book on the different stories of people that we have helped. And some of them have been to heart stories.
But then, there have been the stories of a young boy, he was diagnosed when he was nine, with osteosarcoma. He got his leg amputated, he ended up passing away, but I had the chance to speak with his parents. About what could be a possible legacy for their son. Who better to help encourage other parents whose child has that type of cancer than parents that have gone through it. We had that conversation and they went on to create a foundation that provides awareness, emotional support, and financial assistance to families. Whoever has a child that deals with that particular cancer, that was a blessing in itself. So it hasn’t always been. I mean, it’s always hard. But there’s some snow, rainbows, and stars that come out of it, too.
Pamela Bardhi
Wow, Oh, my gosh, man, that’s, that’s remarkable. And I mean, just your impact, just from even just from day one and then stretching. I still can’t get past the fact that somebody who’s battling something terminal and is thinking about the bills. And again, being selfless and thinking about their family, that just blows my mind. But what’s really key is what you’ve been able to do throughout the years and how you’ve taken your concept. You’ve affected so many people, over 1 million people helped, though. Would have never gotten that help had it not been for you.
Mary Jenkins
Over a million people have liked it because we have the privilege of spreading the word and awareness is so important. And so educating people about where money does and doesn’t go in the importance of seeking treatment early and not self-diagnosing. Those are key and over a million people heard my voice. I know that it’s probably way more than that through podcasts and interviews and things like that. That’s a blessing in itself and then to provide emotional support. So I do a lot of praying for people. Because I’m part of groups on Facebook and other social media platforms.
And there are people that are battling cancer that they are battling or they have battled. They had a family member that battled and we’re just having that conversation. And being able to give them a ray of hope to know and the word hope stands for helping out people everywhere. So I’m like, I’m trying to give hope to everyone trying to help out people everywhere, and then we have a care center. I’m big on acronyms, so we have our care center and the word care stands for creating amazing recovery experiences. So we want people to not just survive cancer, we want them to overcome cancer.
And there’s a difference between surviving and overcoming and a lot of times people don’t know that either. It’s like, Okay if you’re in a car accident, you break your neck, you live, you survive and they say. You’re never going to be able to walk again. But you fight through that and you get to where you can walk again, you didn’t just survive. Heck, you overcame that and you got a story to tell and zeal. And that’s how we want people to feel when it comes to cancer. Yeah. Because you never know how strong you really are. Until you’re on the other side of that adversity.
Mary’s Biggest Lessons in Life
Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely. And now in building this organization, I think it’s more of a mission than it is any type of organization business, or anything else. What have been some of your biggest lessons? Mary, this whole thing. You know, I’m what you’ve learned.
Mary Jenkins
I would say my number one biggest lesson is keep telling my story. Because there’s somebody out there that needs to hear it. There’s somebody that needs to hear it and after that in the midst of the storms, stay in front of the way, always be willing to shift. And the organization as well. Because we weren’t able to go out and fundraise the way we normally do.
And we’re like, Okay, well, we get to shift, we get to ride the wave stay in front of the way, don’t let the wave overtake you. You know, just like on a surfboard, you got to ride the wave, how can you flex? And so I tell people, like, you got to stand in front of the wave, yet always. Always tell your story and stay in front of the way to get to and then Never give up.
Pamela Bardhi
I love that. Mary, I love that. I’m just so excited to see you continue to grow this organization and take it to the next level. Cuz you’re going to help millions more or less. That’s without a doubt. And how have you been able to balance all this? Throughout the years?
Mary Jenkins
We’ll see. And when people really get to know me, they’re like, wait a minute. So you had cancer in 2006 and then you had reconstruction surgery in 2012, so for six years. You did not have reconstruction, I was like I couldn’t. Because I was focused on building the organization. I was focused on getting the word out there because there were people that were battling cancer whose lights. Were going to get cut off because I didn’t care whether or not I had. Cancer didn’t care if I had reconstruction or not, I will go, I will wear a prosthetic. I will figure out how to make sure it doesn’t move, so that way. When I die, I won’t be lopsided, you know, I will figure out all that stuff. I’m going to focus on that.
So six years after starting the organization, I had reconstruction surgery, which was a traumatic experience. Because unfortunately, I had a transplant with a tummy tuck and the in the flat failed, almost killing me, I got put in a nursing home for six months. And so for six months, I’m in a nursing home fighting for my life, still building the organization. So because I had my assistant, bring me my laptop and I was like about as long as I have my laptop. I can work for the hospital a bit, so I did that. And that was in 2012. But then that wasn’t the end of it.
So I got out of the hospital in 2012 trying to get my life back, right, the lady that was helping me ended up dying of cancer. And I’m like, Oh my god, she had the same type of cancer that I had. Unfortunately, her journey was less, so I was like, I don’t know how I can continue. So I had a little break down there. But I was like cancer, I don’t care if I have a breakdown, I still got to do what I got to do. There’s people battling cancer that need bills paid, so I got to push through it.
And then in 2015, there was a lady that called, I’ll never forget this woman. She called and she was complaining because she had been in remission for 10 years and cancer came back. So she was calling trying to get some help and she had found this one little place in her city. That would offer limited financial assistance, like up to $500. And they were saying that they couldn’t apply again. Because you could only apply once in your life and here she was being re-diagnosed.
And she was calling upset because she couldn’t understand. How all these billions of dollars and she needed help. But she couldn’t find help, so after she got done venting, I was like, well, man. We don’t care how many times you’ve battled cancer, we just care that you’re in treatment and you have a need. And she was like, Oh, thank you, Jesus and I was like, Oh, you’re a believer? Let’s have a different kind of conversation. Oh, ye of little faith. You know let’s get that there and there’s a scripture in Romans 828 that says all things work together. For good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So that is it.
There’s something good that comes out of and she goes. Okay and then she asked me. How many times had I battled cancer? And I told her just once. So she said, You don’t know what it’s like to have cancer, you know, come back after it’s been in remission and I said, No, I don’t. She said, Okay. All right. Well, God bless you and she hung up the phone. And I was like, man, I really don’t know what it’s like to have battled cancer more than once, how am I really going to be able to encourage people to trust God, how are they to have faith? How am I really going to encourage them, that they can make it in spite of what they’re going through?
When I’ve never battled more than one. Seven days later, I was diagnosed a second time and I was like. Really, I couldn’t get the cliff note version and it was crazy. So I went through that and posted it, I ended up going through aggressive chemo treatment. I did like eight months of chemo in three and a half months and it does mess me up. And I ended up with heart failure and diabetic ketoacidosis and diabetes. So I still have health challenges, but I’m like, it doesn’t even matter. Because I truly believe that I am on an assignment and I’m going to be here until God says, come on home. And so the only thing that I can do is truly leave a legacy and hope that somebody is inspired by my life.
Pamela Bardhi
You are incredible Mary, oh my gosh. And just the way you continue with your resilience and just to put on the right smile. It’s just so beautiful and I mean, throughout this journey and it’s been I know a challenging one. What would your older self tell your younger self, based on what you know now?
Mary Jenkins
My older self will tell my younger self based off what I know. Kara, you don’t know how awesome you really are. You have no idea how strong and how much you have to give. There’s so much on the inside of you that gets to come out and just make it through this situation. Just keep pressing, keep pressing, keep pressing. Trust me, there’s something on the other side of what you’re dealing with. That’s what I would tell myself.
Pamela Bardhi
Yeah. Amen to that. And now, Mary and your organization, what’s coming up in the next six to 12 months? What are you guys working on, what’s new, what are the goals, mission?
Mary Jenkins
Post pandemics, We’ve got like, how do we shift with pandemics? So all of the ways in which we normally would fundraise in 2020, were canceled. We still get to be creative, so what we did was we created a challenge called the five live challenge. And with the five live challenge, like, okay, we can get people to just donate five or more dollars. Ask two people to do the same thing and then share, share, share and make it go viral. That can happen.
We introduced the challenge last year and that’s been going strong. So this year, like we’re trying, we want 10,000 people to commit to making a $5 donation every month, that’s not a lot. It’s like $5, it’s a cup of coffee or eats at McDonald’s. That’s what a number one, it’s not a lot. But if you have a lot of people doing a little bit, it can be a lot. And people are like, Well, why wouldn’t you rather have that person that could just write you the check? Well, here’s my belief. If I have one person that writes me a check for $50,000? What if they can’t do that next month? Versus having 10,000 people that get five and then if one of them falls off, then I still have $9,995? Coming in?
So I am a firm believer in having a bunch of people supports the cause. And then we have hope, like, we got so much stuff on our heads. Because we want to make certain that we are the place for people to come to. It is not just to come to get support, we want to make certain that they know they have a partner in their journey. And then there’s a lot of places that provide resources. You don’t always need to contact us, we can provide you with resources.
We don’t want to just provide them with resources like here’s a packet of information. And take it and go look and see what you might be eligible for. We’re going to know exactly what a person is eligible for and then we’re going to connect them to it intentionally. And then if by some chance somebody has a need that, we just can’t find somebody that we can partner with to cover that need. We will have the funds to be able to take care of it internally, we are getting the job done for real.
Pamela Bardhi
Oh my gosh, it sounds like 2020, one’s the year. How retable, Oh my God, that’s amazing. I just love your journey, I love your authenticity, the organization, just Everything about you is just incredible. And I know you’re going to smash those goals. You’re going to smash all of them and you’re going to just continue to rise higher and higher and higher. And now you got to let everyone know where to find you, your organization, how they can give all of that for sure.
Mary Jenkins
Well, you can find me anywhere I’m on. I’m on everything, I’m on clubhouse. I’m on Facebook, I’m on LinkedIn, I’m on Twitter, I’m on Instagram. If you look up Mary Jenkins, you’re going to find there’s no extra name or anything like that. You’ve really do find me and then the organization as well. So there’s, there’s the CLC page for your organization on Facebook, on LinkedIn, on Twitter. We’re just really us, you find you could always go to our website, which is www.thecoccares.org. And so when we found that we’re trying to make any kind of way, call us, feel free to call us 614 to 124131.
If you know someone that’s battling cancer, though, for real, send them to our website. It’s our honor and our assignment to be able to be the hope that people battling cancer need. If you want to make that donation at the end of the year for tax benefits. Because we’re tax-exempt organs Send it our way. Cash at we’re on cash app. Venmo, we have PayPal. I mean, we got it all the CLC. We got it all because we want to not have any reason why somebody would give. But I couldn’t get it because, at one time, we were cash only.
And then people were like, Oh, I got a credit card like, okay we don’t have a credit card. Then we got the credit card and then they’re like, Oh, I have cash that my god wants cash that might. Okay, get cash, and then I don’t have a cash app. I use Venmo, Oh my God. And then somebody was like, What about Zell and I’m like, Look, we have everything you can come up with everything.
Pamela Bardhi
It is such an honor to have you here today, It was really, really incredible. Thank you so much. And thank you for all the work that you’re doing and welcome. Absolutely incredible and I admire you so much. So thank you so much for being here today.
Tune in to the episode to hear the rest of my incredible interview with the amazing Mary Jenkins.
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The Underdog Podcast host is none other than Pamela Bardhi. She’s rocking the Real Estate Realm and has dedicated her life as a Life Coach. She is also Forbes Real Estate Council. To know more about Pam, check out the following:
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