A Touch of Comfort Updates
January 2025: A new year, a look back
The new year is a great time to reflect. As the 25th year anniversary and 60th birthday of Jimmy Pite came and went, we took some time to look back at the mission of our Founder and the legacy he wished to leave behind.
We came upon these letters, written by Jimmy outlining his vision for A Touch of Comfort and his intentions for his new life after it was impacted by cancer. He was sick or in remission at the time of writing these, which we believe truly shows what kind of person he was.
November 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the passing of our Founder, Jimmy Pite. He would be so happy that we are still going and are still able to bring a touch of comfort into the lives of cancer patients.
We’re honored to continue this mission for Jimmy, who would have turned 60 in December 2024. To celebrate Jimmy, we have a goal of collecting 60 donations - no matter the size. Please consider donating or sharing during this time of giving. We’d also like to give thanks to all of our volunteers and supporters, we couldn’t do any of this without you!
January 2024 Update - James H. McCallion
While we did not make it to the 60 donations that we had hoped for, we did raise over $2000 during this time. Plus an annual donation of $10,000, we raised $12,000 to continue to make an impact on the lives of cancer patients. This is what Jimmy wanted. Even when fighting for his life, he prioritzed being a good person and finding ways to try to improve the lives of others. This is what A Tough of Comfort is all about. We are going to use the money donated by so many of you to keep this foundation and Jimmy’s legacy alive. Thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey.
Happy New Year.
November 2024: 25th Anniversary
We at A Touch of Comfort are saddened to hear of the passing of James McCallion. James was a three time recipient of A Touch of Comfort services and his family has chosen our charity to make contributions in his memory.
February 2023: About Amazon Smiles
As many of you know, we've been partnering for almost a decade with AmazonSmile as a mechanism to get more out of your generous donations. While it's disappointing to us, and many other smaller non-profits and charitable organizations, Amazon is shutting down AmazonSmile as of Feb 20th.
We're so excited, and proud to announce that we have partnered with Benevity Causes! This will allow us to work with employers to match your donations!
Additionally, we're exploring partnerships to expand our offerings. Historically we've focused on patient experience, but a future relationship with Yale suites will allow us to support family members of people in the oncology transplant unit, providing them with a place to stay.
Ann's Retirement and welcoming Tanaz and Jill!
Ann Conklin-Walsh, RN, is retiring! She's been a member of our professional advisory board at Yale New Haven Hospital for the past 20 years and will be greatly missed. We appreciate all her hard work and wish her the best.
Joining our team at YNHH will be Tanaz Mistry, RN, OCN, and Jill Williams, RN. To the right we see Tanaz Mistry, Ann Conklin-Walsh, and Jill Willans (Left), and Ann Conklin-Walsh with our Vice President Carol Doheny (right).
Fall 2024 Update
A Touch of Comfort has been providing more gift bags than usual lately. In Boston, which usually has ~3 transplant a month, has had over 20 in the last 3 months! Its been great to be able to help these 20 patients.
In New Haven, we were able to provide transportation for a patient who had to go back to Smilow for their three week check after transplant. It’s recommended you do not drive yourself for two months, and we were happy to help. If there’s anything else you feel would make patients more comfortable, just ask and we will see what we can do!
We are honored to have been considered for these donations. If anyone in the future would like to leave a legacy bequest to A Touch of Comfort, please contact Carol Doheny.
As we continue our mission, we are trying to keep up with changes due to the worldwide pandemic and others issues closer to home. Right now BIDMC is the only place still delivering the original goody bags. There is a collaboration planned in the next few years with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, so hopefully that won't change. We do appreciate all they do there to continue Jimmy's original mission.
Other exciting changes are this new website! Thank you Siobhan Sargent for all your support. And at Smilow we have started offering one or 2 night stay at the Suites at Yale, for transplant patients who need to stay in the New Haven area or their families. This is a picture of Carol and Tanaz at Smilow on Halloween (also Tanaz's birthday).
Personnel Update
We would like to welcome our new BIDMC hospital team:
Jessica Christopulos, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
Melissa DeLeon, LICSW
Oncology Social Worker
Sarah Marcinkiewicz, BSN, RN, BMTCN
Nurse Director - 7 Feldberg
Katelyn Trainor, RN, BSN
Assistant Nursing Director - 7 Feldberg