The Cathy Miller Cancer Fund will hold a Strike Out Cancer fundraiser on Saturday.
The Cathy Miller Cancer Fund will hold a Strike Out Cancer fundraiser on Saturday, June 2, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Three Monkeys Cafe, 9645 James St.
Tickets cost $35 or $70, which includes a Phillies ticket for the Sept. 14 game against the Marlins, which is Cathy Miller Cancer Fund Night at Citizens Bank Park.
There will be food and an open bar. Joe Conklin, known for his impressions of Merrill Reese, Joel Embiid and others, will entertain the crowd.
Proceeds will benefit AstraZeneca Hope Lodge, 110 W. Laurel Ave. in Cheltenham.
“It’s for a great cause,” said Frank Miller, who runs the charity in his wife’s name.
The American Cancer Society operates the three-story Hope Lodge, which offers free lodging and van rides to hospital appointments for cancer patients and their caregivers who are from outside the area. They each have their own locker and space in a refrigerator and freezer.
Typically, the patients are receiving treatment at Fox Chase Cancer Center or the University of Pennsylvania.
“There are world-renowned oncologists in the Philadelphia area,” Miller said.
The fund has other benefits throughout the year. On Thursday, May 31, there will be Fashion for the Cure at a Chadds Ford country club. St. Joe’s men’s basketball coach Phil Martelli will be the guest speaker.
Martelli has been helpful to the fund as part of Coaches vs. Cancer, as have Temple’s Fran Dunphy, Penn’s Steve Donahue, Drexel’s Zach Spiker and former La Salle coach John Giannini.
Last November, the fund was honored with the Philly Six Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award. Since its inception, the Cathy Miller Cancer Fund has donated about $825,000 to the Hope Lodge for things such as operations, construction, installation of a backup generator, kitchen and room renovations and Uber rides.
The fund also treats patients and their caregivers to a sit-down dinner and entertainment, usually with a theme, on the first Monday of the month at the lodge.
On Aug. 18, the cancer fund will hold a benefit at Urie’s Waterfront Restaurant in Wildwood.
The fund is also planning its 13th annual Christmas gala in December, when a patient or caregiver will deliver the keynote speech.
“We have a great team,” Miller said.
The Hope Lodge, which opened in 2009, has 37 bedroom suites, including a four-room wing on the ground floor named in Cathy Miller’s memory.
Since opening, the lodge has taken in some 13,000 new and returning patients, saving them about $11 million in lodging and travel. There are two beds in each room.
Amenities include a fireplace, library, television, a great room, meditation room, outdoor patio, washer and dryer, chess set and board games.
“Think of a five-star hotel stay during treatment,” said fund social media director Kim Mosley. “Anything a patient needs. And they are able to share their experience with somebody who is also going through treatment.”
Frank Miller called it “the nicest place you never want to come back to.”
Cathy Miller grew up on Oakley Street in Burholme and graduated from Presentation BVM and Cardinal Dougherty High School. She met her husband, Frank, at Dougherty. She died of cancer in 2003.
Frank Miller has beaten sarcoma and bile duct cancer.
“I’m lucky,” he said.
For more information, call Frank Miller at 610–550–1642 or visit cathymillercancerfund.org ••
