Family Garden Helps Support Bronson Cancer Center Patients in Battle Creek

A grieving Battle Creek family spent this summer and fall on a labor of love, tending a large garden started by their father before he passed away. They then turned the harvest into a donation to help others from the greater Battle Creek Community.

For generations, Al Wright’s family cultivated a crop of potatoes, tomatoes, corn and more, then sold the produce at a roadside stand at their farm on Watkins Road. This year, Al planted the garden in the spring, but died unexpectedly in June. His family and friends decided they couldn’t let Al’s garden falter, so they went about doing what was needed to ensure that it flourished. The group of gardeners put in many hours of labor each week to keep the crops growing and producing. And, just like Al did, they sold the produce at a stand in front of the family farm.

As the season wrapped up, the Wright family generously decided to donate the proceeds to help patients going through cancer treatment at Bronson Cancer Center in Battle Creek. Their donation to Bronson Health Foundation’s Cancer Center Battle Creek Fund totaled $13,218 including matching gifts from son and daughter-in-law Jason and Shawn Wright and the Pfizer Foundation (Jason’s employer).

The Bronson Cancer Center is where Al had undergone care for lymphoma nearly 20 years ago. “We are so grateful for the wonderful care our dad received which allowed him to enjoy so many more years on the farm and with our family,” says Jason. “By making this gift we hope to ensure that other families have the services and resources they need when one of their loved ones is facing a cancer diagnosis.”

The Bronson Health Foundation’s Cancer Center Battle Creek Fund supports patients by providing no-cost nutritional supplements, transportation to and from appointments, assistance with medication costs and more. “For the Wright family to tend to this garden and donate the proceeds in Al’s memory is such a heartwarming and generous gift and we are privileged to be able to pass it on to our patients,” says Liz Semaan, Bronson Health Foundation executive director.

“My dad loved that his garden helped connect and nourish members of our community. We know he would be proud that his final garden continued to do that,” says Jason.