INDY Foundation Takes Nominations For Monthly Cancer Warrior

(KNSI) – The central Minnesota INDY Foundation, started in memory of a man who died of colon cancer, has given away $700,000 to local cancer patients and their families, and it’s asking the public to nominate who gets the money next.

The name is an acronym for “I’m not done yet,” something founder Kayla Strand and her husband, Kyle, said to one another while he was fighting colon cancer. He died in 2017. Strand formed the foundation the following year.

Board member Mitch Anderson told KNSI the foundation takes a different approach than the groups most people think of when they think of cancer fundraising. “There’s going to be a lot of changes in your family, whether it’s a son, daughter, mother, father, husband, wife fighting this disease, this cancer, and we want to be there financially to assist.”

The help comes as gas cards, gift cards and hotel rooms. Anderson said the need often turns up in the ordinary logistics of getting treated. “We have a lot of families that have to drive from Roseau, Minnesota down to Rochester. That costs a lot of money and people don’t plan for cancer.”

Every month the foundation selects a cancer patient or family, whom it calls a warrior, and gives them a cash donation with no strings attached. Nominations and donations both go through indy-foundation.org.

The group held its INDY 1K and 5K at Klinefelter Park on Saturday, sponsored by St. Cloud Toyota. Its Galentine’s Day event is set for early next year, and its annual gala is scheduled for April. For more information or to nominate a family, click here.

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