Pottsgrove School Director Patti Grimm, inset, and the October flyer that announced the soccer team's fund-raiser for cancer patients.

POTTSTOWN PA – Patti Grimm, a boys soccer team assistant coach for the Pottsgrove School District in recent years and – since last year – a member of the district’s Board of School Directors, personally knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of assistance to cancer patients. Today (Friday, Dec. 3, 2010) at 3:30 p.m., she’ll be recognized for all that she’s done on the giving end, too.

Grimm, a survivor of breast cancer who wants to “help the ones who inspired and cheered me through my treatments,” will have a check of $1,000 presented in her honor to the Patient Assistance Fund at the Cancer Center of Phoenixville Hospital. The money has been collected since October by the Pottsgrove team, with the help of the boys’ soccer team at Springfield High School in Delaware County.

Pottsgrove’s head coach is Jerome “Jay” Witkowski; Springfield’s is Jason Piombino. Together, they played soccer at the University of Pittsburgh and, according to Pottsgrove Athletic Director Gary DeRenzo, they agreed to conduct a cancer-fighting fund-raiser at their teams’ annual game.

Think of it as a friends-helping-friends match.

So when the Falcons and Springfield Cougars took to the field Oct. 9 (2010) during the homecoming weekend contest at Pottsgrove’s stadium on Kauffmann Road, Pottstown PA, the players wore pink ribbons and clothing items, volunteers sold raffle tickets, and snack bar workers accepted donations. It was the second consecutive year, DeRenzo said, in which the teams dedicated their efforts to cancer awareness.

Grimm, who now proclaims herself as “on the road to recovery,” is both humbled and delighted by the outcome. “The teams, parents, the community, amazing fans, Gary DeRenzo, and the coaches made (the donation) possible,” she said, and “each penny goes a long way for my cancer friends.”

The Patient Assistance Fund is specifically intended to help cancer victims and others who cannot pay for such needs as transportation to reach their treatment appointments, to buy medications, or for other quality of life support like Reiki therapy and massage services. The donation represents “local money, doing what it can to help at the local level,” those attending the October game were reminded.

Happy, too, is Susan S. Lorah at Phoenixville Hospital, Nutt Road, Phoenixville PA, where the check will be delivered by team representatives. She praised the “enthusiasm and organizational efforts” of Witkowski and others involved “for all (their) help and support. Expenses paid by the donation will be monitored and overseen by the University of Pennsylvania, Lorah noted.

Grimm, a self-described “pink warrior” against cancer, knows first-hand how much good the money will do for those in need. Over time it will help them make progress, and – just like her own – their “health is wealth,” she said.