Carrying on a Tradition of Kindness: The Mildred Mindell Cancer Foundation
February 9, 2026
Mildred Mindell was a wife, mother, nurse, and leader. She was serving as the advisor to a high school sorority when she lost her life to cancer at the young age of 38. In her years with them, she had so inspired the young women she mentored that they came together to raise funds to fight cancer in her honor.
A remarkable 68 years later, the Mildred Mindell Cancer Foundation (MMCF) has contributed well over $5 million to support cancer patients and fund research. GBMC is young by comparison – just 60 -- and has been honored to receive more than $540,000 over the 32 years it has been applying for grants.
“We are truly a volunteer organization,” says Co-President Jodie Silver. “Everything we raise, we give away.”
Today, the co-ed, multi-generational group of dedicated volunteers includes many descendants of original members, including Co-President Jodie Silver. She and her partner in leadership, Merle Wolf, rarely miss an opportunity to garner support for the Foundation and its beneficiaries. Many of their favorite restaurants now sponsor a day when a portion of the proceeds is donated to MMCF. Others contribute gift cards as raffle prizes for the annual Crab Feast. Almost every month, friends of MMCF have a chance, through them, to help cancer patients.
Every summer, the Foundation receives applications for support. This year, “we were able to give to everybody that requested, as much as they requested,” Merle reports happily. Over the years, they have provided funds to support camp experiences for children, purchase infusion chairs and exam tables for cancer centers, and provide wigs for patients.
At GBMC, funds from MMCF provide transportation to and from treatment for patients of the Sandra & Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute. Those who come to the Berman Pavilion multiple times a week and can’t drive or aren’t quite up to it can depend on a free ride, thanks to these volunteers.
It is the sort of kindness that MMCF members, especially, Jodie, Merle and Vice President Linda Barton, have embraced all their lives. What’s more, they’ve passed it along within their families. The annual crab feast has the feeling of a reunion of family and long-time friends.
“I think I grew up with Mildred Mindell being part of my life,” Jodie says. “They used to have nearly new sales, and I remember my mother would gather everything together and my sisters and I would put tags on them.”
Merle’s roots in philanthropy are slightly different, but equally deep. “My mom passed away from cancer in 1971, when she was only 59. But I remember when I was young, my mom belonged to what was called the Royal Sisters,” a charitable organization. The decision to join the Mildred Mindell Cancer Foundation was an easy one.
“I think all of us have grown up with that, one way or another,” she explains.” But for me personally it was time to give back. It was the same for my two cousins who joined; their mom passed away from cancer and then their dad did, too, just two days later.”
Like their members, both women are keenly aware that cancer reaches into and disrupts every community and even every family. And so, they devote much of their free time to easing the way for cancer patients they may never meet. Together, they build and support a full calendar of fundraising events. They take turns crafting and sending out a newsletter twice a year. They sell mahjong cards and “mitzvah” cards – bright, colorful notecards for any occasion.
Like Mildred Mindell herself, these women celebrate giving back and helping others. To learn more, please visit www.MildredMindellCancerFoundation.com.
