Sarah Heitkamp awarded Gap Foundation's first Founders' Award
10 Sep '05
3 min read
Heitkamp designed the Filling the Gap program after her mother, an oncology nurse, was diagnosed with cancer. Already a long time volunteer with the American Cancer Society, Heitkamp became more aware of the burdens patients face -- the high costs of travel, lodging and proper nutritional supplements -- during the course of her mother's treatment at Altru Cancer Center. She was inspired to find a way to ease those costs for low-income patients.
"There was no program in place to defray the financial costs for patients who need to travel from all over North Dakota to receive cancer treatment," said Sarah Heitkamp. "I am grateful to Gap for providing the resources to bring this program to life, and look forward to working with the amazing staff at Altru Cancer Center to implement the Filling the Gap program and lessen the financial burden and emotional stress of travel for the patients."
Heitkamp will use her 80 hours of paid time off to work with the cancer center staff to design a business plan for the Filling the Gap program, to train the program administrators and to build partnerships with community businesses. She has already secured several local partners who have agreed to provide the Filling the Gap program with wholesale pricing, including Parkwood Place housing center, local gas stations and a nutritional supplements company.
Since 1976, Gap Foundation - the charitable arm of Gap Inc. representing Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy - has spearheaded the company's community involvement efforts through grants, in-kind donations, community outreach and employee volunteer programs. The Foundation primarily supports organizations focused on children, youth and families.
Gap Inc, which is global retailer, has about 3,000 stores and fiscal 2004 revenues of $16.3 billion. Company operates three of the most recognized apparel brands in the world Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy. Every day, they look for new ways to connect with customers around the world, provide value to their shareholders and make a positive contribution in the communities where company do business.
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