How New Hope Got Started: Why We Stepped Forward for Columbus
Every organization starts somewhere. For New Hope Cancer Support Foundation, it began with a gap and with a group of people who refused to look away from it.
When support disappeared from our community
For years, the Columbus Cancer Care Foundation served as a lifeline for cancer patients and families in our area, offering support, resources, and a sense of connection during one of the most challenging experiences a person can face. When that organization closed its doors, it left something real and significant behind: a community of patients and caregivers with nowhere to turn for local support.
In a city the size of Columbus, local matters. A national hotline is not the same as a neighbor who knows your name. A website with resources is not the same as someone who can help you figure out how to cover gas money for your next chemotherapy appointment. The loss of a dedicated local organization is not a small thing, and the people who needed it did not stop needing it just because it was gone.
The moment someone has to decide
There is a moment when a gap like this appears in a community, when people face a choice. You can acknowledge that something is missing and hope someone else steps up. Or you can decide that you are someone.
In 2026, a group of Columbus community members made that second choice. Each of them came to it through their own path, some had worked directly with cancer patients and understood the system from the inside; others had survived cancer themselves; others had walked alongside a spouse, a parent, or a child through treatment and knew what that journey demanded. What they shared was the conviction that no one in this community should face cancer without someone in their corner.
New Hope Cancer Support Foundation was born from that conviction.
Starting where we could make a difference today
We are honest about where we are. New Hope is a young organization, built by volunteers, funded by our community, and growing one step at a time. We did not wait until we had a large endowment or a full staff to begin. We started where we could make an immediate, tangible difference.
Our first program is straightforward: $50 gift cards for cancer patients to help offset the everyday expenses that pile up during treatment. Gas to get to appointments. Groceries when energy is too low to cook. A utility bill during a month when income dropped because of time away from work. Small amounts that, for a family already stretched thin by medical costs, can mean something real.
We have also built our first community partnership with Karla's Krowns, founded by Karla Pelster, right here in Columbus. Through this partnership, we can connect patients experiencing hair loss during treatment with wig options that restore something treatment can take away: a sense of confidence, comfort, and dignity.
The people behind New Hope
New Hope is led by an executive board of individuals who bring both professional expertise and deeply personal experience to this work. Some have spent careers in healthcare and know the gaps in the system from the inside. Some are cancer survivors who remember what it felt like to need help and not know where to find it. Some have cared for a loved one through treatment and understand the toll that takes on an entire family.
Every one of them is here for a reason that goes beyond a job description.
What we are building toward
We are starting small. But our vision is not small.
We believe that a community like Columbus deserves robust, sustained, locally-rooted support for cancer patients and caregivers. We believe that no one should have to navigate a diagnosis alone because there is nowhere to turn. And we believe that with the support of this community through donations, through volunteering, through simply spreading the word, we can build something that serves this city for decades to come.
"Together, we are building something rooted in compassion, resilience, and hope for today, and for every journey ahead."
That is why we stepped forward. That is why we are here. And that is why we are not stopping.
If our story resonates with you, there are three ways to be part of it. You can apply for assistance if you or someone you love is navigating cancer in our community. You can volunteer to help us grow. Or you can make a donation that goes directly toward supporting local patients and caregivers. Every bit of it matters.
