Linn County local farmer donates $2,500 to Aiming For A Cure Foundation

Article originally appeared in the December 13, 2011 edition of the Central City Linn News-Letter newspaper.

CENTER POINT – This holiday season, most families will enjoy the luxury of a warm house, gifts under the tree, and food on the table. There are some families, however, that will spend the holidays at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. During the season of giving, the Aiming For A Cure Foundation strives to further help children being treated for cancer and the families who support them.

Recently, a few children chosen by the Aiming For A Cure staff headed to Wal-Mart and bought $5,000 worth of toys for the children’s cancer ward. The toys will stay on the floor where all the children undergoing cancer treatment are housed in the hospital.

Local farmer Jerry Squires knows the importance of giving back to the community and chose Aiming For A Cure Foundation when he was given the opportunity to direct a $2,500 donation to a nonprofit organization through America’s Farmers Grow Communities!, sponsored by Monsanto Fund. The $2,500 donation was included in the $190,000 check that was presented to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital on May 18, 2011. The money will go toward research and is also used to support any child who is treated for cancer in the UI Children’s Hospital.

“I think it’s absolutely tremendous that a huge corporation like Monsanto is giving money to organizations like Aiming For A Cure Foundation in the farmer’s name. The donation goes a lot farther because it is given locally,” said David Tatman, Aiming For A Cure vice president. “In the last eight years, we have raised more than $1,000,000 with 100 percent of proceeds going straight to the cause.”

The mission of Aiming For A Cure Foundation is to raise funds to benefit pediatric oncology patients and families served by the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Their goal is to improve the quality of care and the quality of life for the children through the funding of research and patient care. Tatman knows Jerry and wife Sherri Squires personally, as Sherri has previously gone through cancer treatment.

For a rural community, $2,500 can go a long way in providing organizations, such as Aiming For A Cure Foundation, with the funds they need to help their communities. Visit www.growcommunities.com to learn more about America’s Farmers Grow Communities. The program is part of a broad commitment by the Monsanto Fund to invest in farm communities in order to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society.

This December, farmers in 1,245 counties across 39 states will be awarded a $2,500 donation, which they can give to any nonprofit organization in their county. The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the farm communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.