We are writing to express our sincerest gratitude to the Harvard Lions Club for its recent grant in support of the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden. Founded in 2001, in loving memory of longtime Harvard resident Ginny Thurston, the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden is a 501(c)3 educational nonprofit dedicated to providing education, therapeutic services and programs, and support in a healing environment to all people affected by cancer, regardless of gender, diagnosis, or ability to pay for services. Ginny’s husband, Bill Thurston, donated two acres of land and “Estelle’s Cottage,” with access to the remaining eight acres of her beautifully tended gardens for the Healing Garden’s site. The Healing Garden is a truly unique freestanding center for integrative care—a place where cancer patients feel the healing power of the serene setting in Harvard and the community of others going through the same journey.
This generous grant from the Harvard Lions Club supports the Healing Garden’s Fund-A-Need program, a restricted fund which enables clients with limited financial resources to take advantage of the Healing Garden’s therapeutic services free of charge. In 2012, the Healing Garden expanded its mission beyond care for breast cancer clients only to provide services to all people with cancer, thereby expanding our client base and needs for support. The grant from the Harvard Lion’s Club will help us to meet that expanding need.
Through this grant, the Harvard Lions Club has recoganized the Healing Garden’s strong ties and benefits to the Harvard community. In addition to our location in Harvard, we have clients, volunteers, and board members drawn from the town. As part of our mission to be on the forefront of global cancer prevention, the Healing Garden also offers wellness education programs for the community at large. We encourage all Harvard residents to learn more about the Healing Garden at our website www.healing garden.net or by contacting a board or staff member at any time.
Margaret Koch, Executive Director
Packard Road, Stow
Pamela Sawyer, Board Chair
Ogunquit, Me.
Karen Shea, Board Member
West Bare Hill Road Ruth Silman, Board Member
Bolton Road
