Grateful Friends in the Media

Board member Walter Hartford met with Danvers Community Access TV to share the mission and impact of Grateful Friends. In this interview, Walter discusses how Grateful Friends supports adults living with cancer across Essex and Middlesex Counties, including: - Our signature Comfort Basket Program - Financial Assistance Programs to help with everyday expenses like heat, electricity, and gas - Caregiver support through our Thank You Program Partnerships with local hospital social workers, including Anna Jaques Hospital, Winchester Hospital, and Beverly Hospital among others. Corporate-sponsored Build-a-Basket events have helped us expand our reach! Special thanks to recent sponsors AMG and Leslie Ray Insurance for their generous support. Walter also talks about the importance of building awareness, expanding outreach, and how fundraising events and galas help power our work—including an upcoming Spring Luncheon in May 2026. Learn more, support our mission, and see upcoming events at gratefulfriends.org.

This episode is about a little-known treasure within our community. It has become a beacon of emotional support and financial assistance for Cancer Survivors here in the Northshore of Massachusetts. Grateful Friends is a Non-Profit founded by two friends, Gwen Mahan Ryan and Lee Miraglia. Incredibly, they both experienced a cancer diagnosis about the same time. As they navigated through their own cancer challenges, they looked for ways to alleviate the burdens of others facing a similar cancer diagnosis. Through their empathy, Grateful Friends was born. In this episode, Gwen will be sharing her personal cancer journey and will describe the programs that Grateful Friends provides in support of Cancer Survivors here in Essex and Middlesex counties of Massachusetts. In addition, she will speak about some upcoming events and current partnerships that are in support of that mission.

Join Cape Ann Today host Kory Curcuru as he sits down with Andi Hall, Executive Director of GratefulFriends.org, to discuss their upcoming fundraiser for adult cancer patients. ---------------------------------------------------------- 1623 Studios is a #nonprofit organization dedicated to producing community programming for #CapeAnn—Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Essex—and to providing a forum for the free exchange of information and ideas. We also provide a full spectrum of creative services to support our mission. Learn more at https://1623studios.org