Kim Hardgrove and Jackie Monea first gathered a group of friends at Edgewater Golf Course in Minerva, Ohio for a golf outing to fight breast cancer back in 1997 – nearly 30 years ago. They raised $435 that first year, donating it to a national breast cancer research organization in honor of a friend who was recently diagnosed. By 2006, 100 women gathered for the golf outing and raised more than $10,000 – a huge jump in less than 10 years.
The ladies continued hosting annual golf outings, and as their fundraising efforts grew, they began to get requests from friends and neighbors who needed help with more than just cancer diagnoses. Because of this, and their desire to keep the money local, they decided to start their own organization, enabling them to not only ensure the money was distributed locally, but also let them determine how and who to help.
In 2011, one of their close friends, a long-time golfer and fellow fundraiser, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The group united and decided that they would not only start an organization of their own but name it after their friend who was now fighting cancer herself. Local Hope, the Jackie Davison Foundation, was officially born in 2011.
Local Hope supports women fighting life-threatening diseases like cancer by covering necessary expenses, like electric, water and gas bills for a few months, to help them get “over the hump.” Beyond bills, the group has helped with groceries (in the form of Meijer gift cards), and other needs, like a heated chair for a neighbor undergoing chemo who couldn’t get warm because of the radiation running through her veins.
During COVID, the ladies organized virtual fundraisers, and were amazed by the support they still received online. The organization is 100 percent donation based, and everyone affiliated with it is a volunteer, so every cent goes toward their cause.
In 2024, Local Hope celebrated their 13th year and more than $450,000 in total donations raised. And when the new North Canton Meijer supercenter opened in May, Store Director Sheila Dowgiert chose to donate $15,000 from the store’s grand opening donation budget to Local Hope.
“That was the biggest donation we ever received,” Kim said. “The number of people it will help is unbelievable.”
The group received the check from Sheila and the entire store team at a pre-opening event, and the emotion in the room was evident.
“We wanted to keep our donation hyperlocal, and really make it count for people in our area,” Sheila said. “This organization came up in conversations and all of our local research, and once we connected with the founders, we knew this was the right fit.”
Meijer invests in the communities we serve, and with organizations like Local Hope, we continue to make a lasting impact and foster meaningful relationships with our neighbors, team members and customers. These partnerships address critical needs and help strengthen the social fabric of the areas we serve, creating a positive and lasting difference in communities like Canton and beyond.
“We’ve never turned anyone down and we pray we never have to. As long as we have organizations like Meijer, we’ll be able to keep going,” Jackie said. “It’s so impressive how much Meijer gives to the community. We love to support stores that support our neighbors.”