A breast cancer survivor of 12 years, Bobbie Menneg founded Beyond the Ribbon to provide support, encouragement and hope to those on the same path she once walked.
“So often, when you’re diagnosed, and if you’re lucky and finish your treatments, there’s so much more to your journey,” said the Lawrenceville resident. “There’s so much more than just saying you have breast cancer. It’s life-changing and it affects you forever, physically, emotionally and financially.
“The best way I can explain a cancer diagnosis is you get thrown on this freight train going 100 miles an hour and you’re holding on for dear life. If you’re lucky and you finish your treatments, that freight train stops and puts you off at the train station and it keeps going. And you’re just wondering what to do next.”
Beyond the Ribbon helps cancer patients and their families in a variety of ways. There’s Jane’s Closet, a food pantry; Pat’s Pillows & Pouches, which provides small pillows, drain pouches and seat belt cushions; and Chloe & Friends, which doesn’t forget the supportive role family pets play in the cancer journey.
And Beyond the Ribbon has a particularly important presence at Christmas, where the nonprofit adopted 29 families (including nearly 60 children), fulfilling their wish lists and handing out $100 grocery store gift cards.
“I get their names from social workers at the hospital and they’ll fill out a Christmas wish list and we try very hard to accommodate them,” said Menneg, who founded the nonprofit in 2017. “A lot of times, cancer families just don’t have money. It’s always nice to do that and be a part of that and to know you’re bringing a little joy to a family on Christmas Day.”
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
Menneg has learned to get creative when it comes to raising money to support her clients. She said her budget has grown about 15% each year and in 2022, Beyond the Ribbon paid out about $40,000 to patients and their families.
Golf tournaments and 5K races provide a good bit of financial help, as did the recent “Rainbows, Reindeers & Wishes” event at the Hudgens Center of Art and Learning in Duluth and “Bingo & Beyond,” held at various locales in Lawrenceville.
“They are so wonderful to our organization,” said Menneg of the Hudgens Center.
But one event Menneg especially enjoys are the car shows that her organization hosts.
“We started doing car shows a few years back, and those have been a lot of fun and we’ve always made money at them,” she said. “At our first car show, we had 230 cars in downtown Lawrenceville. In 2024, it will be our third year and we’re partnering with City of Lawrenceville — they take on promotion and entertainment and closing the streets and my piece is, I bring in the cars.
“This year we’ll be doing it on the downtown Square — that’s really exciting. I’ve had such a blast meeting people from car clubs. It’s so nice to see them want to be a part of it, especially because it’s likely someone in their family or someone they know has been affected by cancer.
“We started doing car shows because they were outdoors and COVID had reared its ugly head and a lot of our families are immune-compromised. So what would be better than for people to get out on a nice day with their families and look at cool cars? We always try to have a kids’ area for the kids to have something to do. We want to make it fun, family-friendly and very inexpensive.”
Menneg, who works in the day surgery outpatient center at Northside Gwinnett Hospital in Lawrenceville, said that her volunteer work at the hospital kick-started the establishment of Beyond the Ribbon.
“I volunteered before and I want to get back to that, in the infusion centers, which flamed my passion even more because I made a lot of friends there and started our support group there, which kind of tumbled into Beyond the Ribbon,” she said. “That’s where it all started.”
Menneg added that Beyond the Ribbon — which she started with four other cancer survivors — might not exist at all without the dedicated assistance from volunteers.
“We know the journey; we’ve been on this journey and we know the struggles,” she said. “I have the best volunteers; they’re just incredible. I couldn’t do what I do without them. I call them the BTR Squad and they are incredible.”
For more information, visit www.beyondtheribboninc.org.
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
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