Freedom Celebration donates $14,000 for cancer treatment

Pictured left to right: Jim Machado, private donor; Susan Morton, RN, Director of the Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center; Doug Brown, President, Klamath Freedom Foundation; Kristen Schooler, Dutch Bros; Billy Redd, Pacific Crest Federal Credit Union; Gary Clayton, OnTime Pack & Ship; and Kathy and Mel Haas, Ace Towing. Not pictured is Dona Bockelman, Cooks Glass. Inset picture: Chris Brown (Submitted photo)

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Earlier this month, Doug Brown and volunteers with the Klamath Freedom Celebration visited Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center to make their annual donation. This year’s contribution of $14,000 brings the total amount Klamath Freedom has raised for the Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center to $60,100.

Brown, was joined by representatives of principal sponsors, as he presented Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center Director Susan Morton, RN, with a check to help local patients going through cancer treatment.

Doug and Chris Brown started the Klamath Freedom Celebration in 2010 with the vision to celebrate veterans, active-duty military, and first responders. Brown began raising money for Chris’s Causes for cancer treatment and care in 2016 after Chris Brown died in March of that same year.

The Klamath Freedom Celebration’s fundraisers include a variety of community events throughout the year that supports Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center. Some of these events include the Fourth of July Celebration, the Veteran’s Day parade, the Chris Brown Memorial Ride-Walk-Run, and donations received via their website for Chris’s Causes.

Chris was a Sky Lakes cancer treatment patient in 2015 and 2016.

Brown recalls one day sitting in the treatment room Chris turned to him and said, “Look at all of these people here, all of them are scared, and I am too.”  She went on to say, “When I beat this thing, I’m going to advocate for this center.” Brown is now carrying that on for her.

Brown keeps his donations local to support the community. “I can actually see what’s being done with the money and I’m proud of that.”

Donations to the Cancer Treatment Center stay local, providing comprehensive care without leaving the Klamath Basin.

The Cancer Treatment Center has a Renewal Suite for woman cancer patients on a journey to feel feminine again. This special suite is a space where women can begin the process of finding a new identity under the new set of parameters that cancer has left them with. Women are given an opportunity to choose wigs, scarves, hats, and mastectomy bras with prosthetics free of charge with the help of generous donors. “Chris would have really liked supporting these women.”

These funds could not have been raised without the generous support of sponsors and volunteers who have helped at various essential events hosted by the Klamath Freedom Celebration.

“Every sponsor is really stepping up to the plate. We don’t have a lot of volunteers, either, so I like to thank the ones I have,” Brown said, adding he’s always seeking more volunteers and sponsors for next year’s fundraisers.

This year the primary sponsors were Pacific Crest Federal Credit Union, Ace Towing, Cook’s Glass, On-Time Pack & Ship, and Dutch Bros.