About Us
Overview
Candice Vincent-Mamary was a mother and social worker who bravely envisioned a way to help others diagnosed with cancer. She wanted to help patients, their families, and caregivers with emotional and social support. Within 5 months of Candy’s death in January 1998, “Candy’s Place-a Rainbow of Hope” was born. Through Candy’s Place, her legacy of “helping build inner strength one person at a time” lives on.
Located in our new, state of the art, 3,800 square foot building, at 190 Welles Street/Suite 120, Forty Fort, Pa. 18704, Candy’s Place is a cancer resource center that provides social, emotional, and therapeutic services to cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones. Candy’s Place is a 501 3 C non-profit organization funded through grants, donations, and sponsored fund raising events. Candy’s Place is unique in its many specialized programs and services provided by certified professionals. Gentle Yoga classes, Cancer Well Fit Exercise Program, Massage therapy, Reiki healing touch, Spa Treatments, Educational workshops, and Social/Emotional Consultations are a few of the many services provided.
Candy’s Place designed the first specialized exercise program for cancer patients in NEPA in 1999. In the past few years, research in cancer recovery and exercise has increased tremendously. This research indicates patients who participate in regular exercise can have improved outcomes versus those who undergo traditional cancer treatments alone. Exercise has been proven to have many benefits to patients. It can help decrease side effects such as fatigue, nausea, pain, and depression. It can help increase or sustain endurance, self-esteem, prevent osteopenia, and lymph- edema due to cancer drugs or surgery.
Since the inception of these programs, hundreds of patients, survivors, caregivers, and loved ones have participated and benefited from the services. The NEPA Affiliate of The Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation has been responsible for a majority of the funding for these programs.
Candy's Place is a non-profit corporation governed by it's Corporate Members, Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Executive Director. The center is funded primarily through grants and donations.
Our Mission
It is our mission to provide a safe, non-threatening, loving, home-like environment to those affected by cancer.
Our Goal
Our goal to establish a permanent place with a home-like environment, enabling caring individuals to provide support and offer help and friendship to those affected by a cancer diagnosis has been achieved. We need your continued support!
Executive Director's Message
Welcome, friends, to Candy’s Place!
We hope you enjoy and find our new website both informative and inspiring. It is our aim to provide you with all of the information you’ll need to take advantage of the many wonderful services and programs we are able to provide free of charge to cancer patients here at Candy’s Place.
It is an honor and privilege to work in such a marvelous organization. I have worked for several of the largest non-profit organizations in my career. I began as a “rookie” in the 70’s with the American Red Cross as Director of Volunteers and Development, moved on to being an Executive Director with the USO where I was stationed on a military base in Germany, came back to the states after several years and accepted the position of Executive Director with The American Heart Association. Each opportunity offered such wonderful experiences and I met such great friends. However, when I was recruited to take on the position of Executive Director at Candy’s Place, I was delighted for many reasons!
Since we are a stand alone organization (unlike the national organizations that need to send a large percentage of the money they raise to both their state and national offices) we have the luxury of really keeping all of our money right here in our community. Daily, I see our fundraising efforts are helping our friends struggling with cancer. I feel very good about that. The atmosphere here is a very loving and caring one. Patients and their families are always treated with kindness and dignity. I will never grow tired of seeing a patient and loved one leaving our office with a smile and a renewed sense of hope replacing the angst and fear that they entered with.
Thank you for visiting us on our new website. I invite you to come and take a tour of our beautiful new home. Whether you are a patient, survivor, loved one, donor, or soon-to-be volunteer I sincerely welcome you to Candy’s Place!
Founder's Message
A NOTE FROM PENNY
How do you cope with the loss of your beautiful 47 year-old sister and best friend who dies seven months after being diagnosed with Lung Cancer?
Prior to being diagnosed, my sister Candy lived a very healthy and full life. Her profession as a social worker required her to interact daily with children and adults. She was active in the community and with her church. Most of all, she was devoted to us, her family.
My 25 years of nursing went right out of the window. I could not help her. However, Candy’s motto was, “No negativity in my AURA!” She lived by this motto throughout her illness, and I was not about to let her down, no matter how much it hurt.
During a conversation that I had with Candy about a month before her death, she told me there had to be a purpose to her diagnosis. Candy could not imagine something so dreadful happening to her and not having some corresponding value to others. I told her that we would find the point to all of the sadness together. Unfortunately, my sister died before we could formulate the entire idea.
After her death in January 1998, I felt a great need to focus my anger and grief on something positive. Again, I remembered a conversation that Candy and I had about how helpless our family and friends felt when she was diagnosed with cancer. Since so much of our time was spent researching basic cancer information, we did not realize the short amount of time we really had to be with Candy during the disease. It was then that CANDY’S PLACE, a starting point for cancer patients, their families, and their loved ones, was born.
Since 1998, Candy’s Place has grown to include a variety of complimentary programs and services to help cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their loved ones deal with the physical, emotional and social aspects of this disease.
A Loving Sister
Penny Cunningham
Penny Cunningham - Founder
Board and Advisory Council
B.J. Ahearn, R.N. - President
James Hilsher - Vice President
Andrea Caladie, CPA - Treasurer
Barb Moeller, R.N., B.S.N.- Secretary
Anne Collett Kelly - Executive Director
Jack McNulty - Member At Large
Members:
Andy Gegaris
Brian Bufalino, Esq.
Kim Mericle
Patrice Williams
Lousie Kondracki
Debra Ganz
Jack McNulty
Mark Altavilla
Angela Falzone
Denise Fried, RN,BSN,OCN
Martin Fried, MD
Marjorie Hoffman
Beverly Jarmiolowski
Karen Stavish
Ruthann Taylor, RN,BSN,OCN
Trish King
Advisory Council
B.J. Ahearn, R.N.
Joy Armillay, Ed.D., RD
Louis Blaum, Jr., M.D.
David Greenwald, M.D.
Norman Schulman, M.D.
Penny Cunningham, L.P.N., CHPN
Denise Fried, R.N., OCN
Ruthann Taylor, R.N., B.S.N., OCN
Barb Moeller, R.N., B.S.N.