Voices of Hope donates over $100,000 to cancer research

By PETER CURRIER | pcurrier@lowellsun.com | Lowell Sun

Voices of Hope donated more than $100,000 earlier this month to the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center’s Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies as the local charity singing and theater group prepares for its latest theatrical performance.

VoH presented the Termeer Center with a check for $113,000 during a March 15 ceremony, which VoH founder and President Greg Chastain said pushed the group past the $1 million total for money donated to the cancer research center.

The group was formed by Chastain in 2009 after his mother died following a battle with pancreatic cancer. At the time, Chastain was preparing to perform in a local production of “Aida,” and his fellow cast members ended up as a major source of support while Chastain mourned, with many sharing their own stories of cancer impacting their families.

After starting with what Chastain thought would be a “one-off” charity concert to raise money for cancer research, VoH grew and evolved and would come to donate money annually for cancer research, at first for the Belfer Institute for Applied Sciences at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In 2013 they began raising the money for the Termeer Center, which had been established the year before. Last year, VoH celebrated the milestone of $1 million donated to cancer research between Dana-Farber and the Termeer Center, with this year’s milestone being $1 million donated to the Termeer Center alone.

“It was supposed to be a one-night thing to give back for my mother and the people who took care of her. I didn’t think we would ever get to $1 million, and now we are almost at $1.3 million,” said Chastain.

Chastain called this month’s ceremony “an incredible night,” and said he hopes it marks the beginning of their journey to the next $1 million of donations to fight cancer. To start things off, VoH is preparing for a stage performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was the group’s very first book musical back in 2013.

“Since we hit our millionth dollar last year, we decided it would be a good way to kick off the next million dollars,” said Chastain.

Many of the performers from the same show 12 years ago are returning to take part once again, including Adam Sherkanowski and Ed Siegal, who will be reprising their roles as Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilot, respectively. While the group rehearses in the Ballard Vale Church in Andover, its members largely come from Greater Lowell.

This year’s show comes amid a somber first for VoH, Chastain said. Former cast member and longtime VoH volunteer Meghan Melo, of Tewksbury, is the first ever from the group to undergo a trial cancer treatment at the Termeer Center since its opening, which she began Tuesday amid a bout with breast cancer. Melo once performed with VoH as a teenager after beating leukemia, and has volunteered in the front-of-house side of things for years with her mother, Kara McWeeney.

“She is a fighter,” Chastain said of Melo.

The Termeer Center was started in 2012 in the hopes of shortening the time it takes for promising cancer drugs to go through trials and receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Head of Nursing Cassandra McIntyre said in a phone call Wednesday. Since then, and with a lot of help from the money donated by VoH, McIntyre said they have been able to bring 27 cancer drugs all the way to FDA approval, with the most recently approved drug being meant for breast cancer.

“We have a great relationship with them, it’s very unique. They know exactly what they are raising the money for and the impact it has on patients,” said McIntyre.

VoH also funds a rideshare program for Termeer Center patients, meant for those who can’t get a ride to the hospital for their treatments either because they are too sick to drive themselves or simply cannot afford the transportation.

“This is a game changer for patients who wouldn’t have been able to go into these trials without their help,” said McIntyre.

McIntyre said she and other Termeer Center staff make a point to attend VoH performances, and they plan to see “Jesus Christ Superstar” together Friday night.

“The thing that is really nice about the relationship is they care so much about finding cures for cancer. We are really aligned in that passion,” said McIntyre.

VoH will perform “Jesus Christ Superstar” Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly,

Coming up later this year, VoH will host its 15th Annual Barbara Byrd Golf Classic at the Four Oaks Country Club in Dracut July 17, their five-week summer youth program will kick off in early July, and on Oct. 4 the group will host its annual fall gala, all with the aim of donating more money to cancer research.