PORT TOWNSEND — The 11th annual Edensaw Community Cancer Foundation Brewfest is on tap for Saturday.
Event organizers hope to raise upward of $50,000 for East Jefferson County patients.
The foundation, which exclusively serves county residents who are undergoing cancer treatments, will host the event from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Port Townsend Brewing Co., 330 10th St., in Port Townsend.
Admission is free. Live music will be provided by the band Soul Siren. Food will be available through Mo Chili BBQ. The beer garden is for those 21 and older, and a portion of the sales will be donated to the nonprofit organization.
Jim “Kiwi” Ferris, the owner of Edensaw Woods and founder of the Edensaw Community Cancer Foundation, said the goal is to help people in the community.
“Any age, any race, any gender,” he said. “We don’t care.”
The primary fundraisers are the auctions. A live auction will begin at 4 p.m., while silent auction items will be open throughout the day and wrap up at 6 p.m.
There will also be a Raise the Paddle event with cash donations, Ferris said.
The foundation has raised between $35,000 and $45,000 annually for the past five years and has dispersed more than $300,000 in support since its inception in 2007, Ferris said.
Cancer patients can apply to receive up to $1,000 with a form on Edensaw’s website under ECCF. Applicants must qualify financially at 250 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the application form.
Ferris said he’s been involved in fundraising efforts since he helped bring Relay for Life to Jefferson County in the early 2000s. The Edensaw team raised about $130,000 for cancer in the first four years of the event, and he decided to create the foundation for more direct community impact.
Rebecca Kimball, an advanced registered nurse practitioner in the oncology unit at Jefferson Healthcare, said social workers at the hospital often work with cancer patients to inform them about financial assistance programs.
“We’ve had more and more patients who’ve had the kinds of needs that couldn’t be met in other ways,” Kimball said. “This can go to pay their drug bill, their rent, electricity, or help with transportation and other needs.”
Ferris said there are no stipulations on how the funds can be used.
“Whatever helps them feel better,” he said.
Kimball recalled one patient who used the grant to take his dog to the vet.
“It’s hard to understand the impact that cancer has on our life,” she said. “All of us understand if you say the word ‘cancer,’ we’re worried about our mortality, but we don’t think about whether or not that person is married, has kids, has pets.
“It’s about resources. Maybe they’re the sole support system for their family, and they need chemo once a week and radiation every single day for five weeks.”
Ferris said the foundation receives 35-40 applicants per year, and nearly all receive funding. The application is open on a year-round basis, and funds can be dispersed within about a week, he said.
“If they’re applying, they need it now,” Ferris said. “They don’t need it six months from now.”
Kimball said the hospital oncology unit has been involved with the foundation for at least the past five years. Many of the staff members attend brewfest, too.
“There’s been some great stuff that I’ve bought there,” she said. “I bought the most beautiful brass doorknocker that you’ve ever seen, and it was tooled right there in the boatyard.
“I also bought a wooden table, and the top is a compass. It’s all handmade with exotic woods.”
Some of this year’s auction items include tables, chairs and other handcrafted wood pieces, original paintings and other artwork, food, drinks and entertainment options at several establishments, and baskets of assorted goods donated by local businesses.
“Quite a number of our customers [at Edensaw Woods] donate items for the auction,” said Ferris, who also will be the auctioneer. “Edensaw pays for the band. The rest goes to the foundation. Every single bit.”
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
