Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Alverson.
Hi Leslie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Our story all starts with Kim Alverson, my mother in law. In March of 2022, at age 48, Kim was diagnosed with an aggressive type of colon cancer that had spread to the liver. She fought hard for 22 months. In addition to her chemotherapy, Kim also participated in a clinical trial that studied a particular medicine designed to target her type of cancer. Kim’s oncologist told the family that Kim’s participation in the clinical trial, as well as the results that followed, will help many more cancer patients in the future. Kim was called to be with the Lord on January 22, 2024. Kim always said that when she “beat” cancer, she wanted to help others who are fighting the same fight. She didn’t know how she was going to help but knew she wanted to do something. It’s because of Kim’s servant attitude and influence on her family that The Kim Alverson Foundation is in existence today. To God be the glory!
In February of 2024 our family started brainstorming how we could carry on Kim’s legacy and help other. While Kim’s husband, Travis, was taking her to appointments, he noticed that many people were alone. Based on that observation, we decided to focus our mission on cancer caregivers. Our theory is that if we support a caregiver, we are also supporting the patient. Many caregivers are forced to choose between working to pay the bills or being with their loved ones– this is where we come in! We pay common house hold bills so that caregivers don’t have to choose. In addition to financial help, we offer prayer and Bible study to all of our “foundation families.” We are very proud to also provide Christian counseling to those caregivers that are interested. We aim to provided well rounded service to our families.
It was quite the learning curve from that first brain storming session until today but God has been with us every step of the way. We’ve had friends donate their services to help us gain our 501c3 status and get our website up and running. Our community and perfect strangers have been so generous with their donations. Our first family received help in September of 2024 and as of today, we have helped 20 families!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say that the process has been mostly smooth thanks to all of the help from our community. There have not been many major obstacles to overcome but a lot of time spent deliberating what the next best move it to make. We put a lot of thought into anything the foundation does.
As you know, we’re big fans of Kim Alverson Foundation. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Most of the families that we serve are Tn residents but we do have one military family on base in Ky. 50% of our foundation families are fighting pediatric cancer. Many families today are struggling financially even before a diagnosis, we are honored to provided some temporary peace of mind for them. It can be hard to provide families with groceries but we have come up with a creative procedure to meet these needs.
We are most active on Facebook but to learn more you can also check out our website www.kimalversonfoundation.org. To apply for help, a hospital official such as a social worker or nurse needs to email us to start the application process.
We are intentional about keeping overhead cost at next to nothing so that our donors can rest assured that their money is going directly to helping families. The Kim Alverson Foundation likes to keep things intimate. We have 5 “case managers” who work personally with caregivers to provide the most effective support. Caregivers have the gaurente of a case manager who cares and can empathize.
While we offer financial, spiritual and emotional support- families aren’t obligated to use all 3 services. With mental health being such a struggle in our country we are extra proud to provide Christian counseling. Our families also don’t have to choose to spend money on physical or emotional needs; we have two separate funds for each family so that they can receive both services.
We just wrapped up our first annual benefit dinner at the Capitol Theatre in Lebanon Tn. We have a golf tournament coming up on Sep 11th at the Hermitage golf course and anyone is welcome to come and play.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Our mission will remain the same over time- The Kim Alverson Foundation is dedicated to showing the love of Christ by helping caregivers support their loved ones in their fight against cancer. Caregivers are vital to a cancer patient by providing support, love, and encouragement. Our belief is that if we help caregivers, we are also helping the patient. The Kim Alverson Foundation is committed to helping caregivers financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
We’ve had the conversations about dreams of the foundation going country wide but we desire most of all for our level of personal care for each family to remain the same. While we are open to serving more states and adding more caseworkers, we are in no rush. Our main focus is to honor God and serve others the very best that we can.
Pricing:
- If you’d like to support a family for a month, donating $500 would be a great place to start.
- If you’d like to cover a utility bill for a family $50-$200 would be a great donation.
- Would you like to provide groceries for a large family, consider donating $300.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kimalversonfoundation.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560969217323
