About the ChemCeed Foundation
Everyone has been touched by cancer—whether through a family member, friend, or someone in our community—and yet each of us holds the power to create change. The ChemCeed Foundation believes in standing alongside those diagnosed with cancer, united in spreading awareness and advancing the fight against this disease. Founded by the team at ChemCeed, a woman‑owned, minority‑owned chemical supplier based in Chippewa Falls, this charitable organization directs its fundraising to cancer research, support services, and individuals currently battling cancer. Beneficiaries include the American Cancer Society, local cancer support programs, and—through a dedicated grant program—direct financial assistance to individuals and families impacted by cancer in the Chippewa Valley. The ChemCeed Foundation is deeply committed to ensuring that all funds raised remain local, providing meaningful support right where it’s needed most.
Our Event Calendar
The ChemCeed Foundation’s largest fundraising event of the year is our annual golf outing “Teeing off for a Cure”. The event is a 9-hole golf scramble that includes hole games, food, drinks, and prizes. If you are interested in registering or learning more about this event, please visit our Golf page.
Additional fundraising events such as brat stands, etc. will be announced throughout the year as they occur. Please follow our Facebook page for more timely information regarding our events.
Our Stories
This cause is very near and dear to the hearts of our staff members. Below are a few personal stories our staff has chosen to share regarding how their lives have been personally affected by cancer:
Rolly’s Story
Growing up I remember cancer affecting many people I knew or a family member of someone I knew. In high school, I first started to shave my head (along with several other boys in my class) because another one of our classmates was diagnosed with cancer. It seemed every year people around me were being affected more and more but none of my close family members had been affected. I even remember my aunt, who is a physician, saying that we really don’t have a family history of cancer. Then then over 20 years ago my mother’s first cousin passed away from lung cancer (and she never smoked a day in her life). Then about 18 years ago one of my mom’s sisters got esophageal cancer and last year passed away after cancer coming back after many years of remission. Around 10 years ago another one of my aunts passed away from colon cancer. My mother’s brother had a kidney removed several years ago and he passed away several months after. 8 years ago, lung cancer took my mother’s life. It seems like every day someone is telling me about their own experiences with their loved ones or themselves. There are too many stories, struggles and fights for people’s lives. I do not have any pictures to share because there are too many people affected. I support The ChemCeed Foundation not only for my family, but in hopes that I will hear less stories about cancer and my family’s cancer stories stop growing. There are too many people that cancer affects but with our efforts with The ChemCeed Foundation, I hope many lives and families will benefit with either help with caregiving, research for new treatments and new prevention research. One less cancer story, one more life saved, that all we can hope for.
Mel’s Story
Cancer… I’ve seen how it has affected people’s lives. Mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, relatives, and friends… Having to say goodbye to their loved ones too soon. Some of them will not see their children graduate from high school or get married. Some of them will never meet their grandchildren. Some of them lose their lives before their parents.
Between August 2016 and April 2017, our family lost 3 people, two of them to cancer. One of them is my cousin, Maria Raquel, who was diagnosed when she was in her mid-30s. She hadn’t been feeling well for a while, but when her family went to Florida and she couldn’t join them at Disney World, she knew that something was seriously wrong. She went to the doctor as soon as she got back to Minnesota. Diagnosis: Colorectal cancer. They operated right away, but it had already spread to her liver. However, her doctors were optimistic. She was strong, young and was a fighter. After weeks of treatment, her prognosis was looking better. However, after years of the cancer coming back to different parts of her body and years of suffering through the side effects of the different treatments, Raquel passed away on August 23, 2016, at 42 years old. She left behind a husband and three young children. My family and I spent the last month of her life with her in Minnesota. I saw the effects the years of Raquel’s suffering and finally her death had on her children. It broke my heart every time I heard Raquel teach them as many life lessons as she could or when I listened to her tell me about her fears and her dreams for her children. She should’ve seen her kids graduate and get married. She should’ve met her future grandchildren. She shouldn’t have gone before her mom. She is one of the reasons I raise money for The ChemCeed Foundation.
Dana’s Story
When my mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer, our first reaction was fear. After all, our family had known a neighbor and good friend who passed away from breast cancer, but we also knew what a fighter my mom was. She went through painful radiation treatments and lumpectomy and was thankfully declared cancer free. That was until she received the second diagnosis a year later, colorectal cancer. My mom again underwent surgery, followed by an aggressive chemotherapy regiment. The chemotherapy was brutal. It affected her memory during the time she was receiving the chemo, so she doesn’t really have much memory of attending my wedding. When she started experiencing tingling limbs caused by neuropathy, her doctors chose not to stop the chemo which in turn caused permanent loss of sensation in her fingertips and feet. Thankfully, she was able to beat cancer again and is still here with us today, but not without the pain of a permanent “tingling” sensation and the numbness caused by the neuropathy. Neuropathy makes her life challenging as it is difficult to walk across uneven surfaces or even hold things in your hands when you cannot feel your limbs. Our family is certainly no stranger to cancer. My father has been affected by skin cancer almost too many times to count. Thankfully, his wonderful dermatologist has been able to catch it each time and remove the cancer before it spreads. He is currently healing again from another skin cancer removal. Wear your sunscreen! For my parents, and the many other friends I have whose lives have been affected by cancer, this is why The ChemCeed Foundation is so important to me.
Katrina’s Story
I don’t just have one story to tell, I have many. I lost my grandma (dad’s mom) at the age of 5. Being that young I didn’t know the whole story. I didn’t understand why God would take away someone I loved so dearly. You see, my memories of her were making sure I said my prayers before I went to sleep every night. She taught me to say prayers for the ones I loved so that God would watch over them. Growing up I began to understand the circle of life a little bit better. It didn’t make things easier. When I was in high school, I lost my grandpa (mom’s dad) to prostate cancer. He was in British Columbia, and I was in Minnesota. I didn’t get to be with him during his battle but knowing him I knew he had put up a good fight. Once again life wasn’t fair. I watched my mom lose her best friend to breast cancer. Leaving behind her four beautiful young children. My own daughter has experienced loss at a young age. Her great-grandmother and great aunt both lost their battles. These two very strong women fought a hard fight, but in the end cancer won. I myself have had two questionable looking moles removed from my back. Why does cancer always have to take our loved ones? Why can’t somebody figure out a way to cure this wicked disease? The ChemCeed Foundation is important to me because I have lost too many people to cancer. I have witnessed too many friends and families battle with the words “You have cancer.” It is important to me that we find a way to win the fight!
Vickie’s Story
My dad is one of the greatest people I know and finding out he had cancer was like a slap in the face. In the spring of 2016, we learned that my dad had a large tumor surrounding one of his kidneys. As terrifying as it sounded, the doctors were optimistic. They removed his kidney a month later and the cancer was gone! Living with one kidney was an adjustment but we were all just happy that the cancer was gone. In January of 2017, we found out my dad’s cancer returned. This time it originated in his bladder and spread to his remaining kidney. They also discovered a small tumor in his abdomen. This would not be as easy as the first time around. They started my dad on some aggressive chemo treatments. My dad took to the treatments well and maintained a positive attitude, however, the chemo took a toll on him. In August of 2017, we received the news we had all prayed for. The cancer was gone, and my dad was officially in remission! We were so relieved about this; however, the treatments had some lasting effects on my dad. He was weaker and was losing a lot of weight. In November of 2017, we learned that his cancer had returned. This was devastating. He didn’t deserve this. Hasn’t he fought enough? The doctors were not as optimistic this time around. The previous chemo treatments weakened my dad’s remaining kidney, so chemo was not an option. The doctors decided that immunotherapy would be the way to go this time. The therapy kept his cancer from getting worse, but it continued to weaken his kidney. Unfortunately, my dad went into stage five kidney failure because of his treatments. Because of this the doctors made the decision to halt the treatments. My dad spent only a short time more with us, but we cherished every moment. My dad spent the last few years of his life fighting as hard as he could but there is no more fight left in him. He passed away on July 7, 2018. He is still and will always be the best father and grandfather I have ever known! We miss him dearly. This is the reason why The ChemCeed Foundation is so important to me. Cancer took away a big piece of my heart. It’s time to fight back.
Alyssa’s Story
As a younger person you always think, “No that’s not going to happen to me” and that’s the mentality I had when it came to cancer. I never thought that my family or my friends would be affected by such a terrible thing, but they were. My grandfather, “Papa” was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2014 and true to his character, the only words he had for me were, “I’ll be fine”. Throughout his entire fight, Papa displayed the strength and kindness that I had grown up seeing. He made a promise that he would see me graduate from college and my little cousin graduate from high school, and he did! He eventually made the decision to stop treatment and live out his final days happily watching all his favorite tv shows and spending time with his family and his dogs. He passed away on September 17th ,2017. Words cannot describe the kind of man that Papa was. He was the most generous, kind-hearted, loving man that I have ever known, and he meant the world to me.
Unfortunately, Papa’s story and journey was not the only way that cancer has come into my life. In February 2015, I got the chance of a lifetime to work at Disney World. Little did I know that I would meet one of the best friends anyone could ask for, Kelly. I only got to spend a few weeks with her in Florida, but we became inseparable and even when she had to return to New Jersey and I eventually returned to Wisconsin, we remained best friends. It was in September 2015 that Kelly called to tell me the simple pain that she had been having in her shoulder was lymphoma. We spent the rest of the night googling the survival rates and giving each other pep talks. Even from thousands of miles away, I made sure to stand by Kelly’s side in her fight. From the middle of the night hospital phone calls to the endless care packages, to the hours spent planning Universal trips together, our friendship never wavered. After believing that she was in remission, doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her brain and Kelly passed away June 29th, 2016. Never in a million years would I think that I would have to attend the funeral of my best friend who was younger than I was. Even though I had only known her for a short time, she meant so much to me in so many ways.
Cancer can affect everyone and that is why The ChemCeed Foundation is so important to me and to the members of ChemCeed. Giving back to families in our local community is amazing! Papa and Kelly deserve to be remembered. Every victim of cancer deserves to be remembered, and the survivors deserve to be honored. We can do that by fighting to make a difference!
Laurie’s Story
I had been divorced for 6 years and was good being single with my two sons, Noah and Gabe. In Spring of 2021, one day while at work some friends were talking. Then the next thing I know, I am being told that some guy will be sending me a snap, and I should talk to him. Being set up is not really my thing but that guy was Joel. He snapped and we chatted, and I thought he would be a good friend; he didn’t really show he was interested otherwise. After the 5th date he finally said he really liked me, and things moved fast after that. We, both in our 40’s, knew what we wanted, so why waste time? He met the boys and stayed with us all the time. After Christmas, we joked around about how we should just buy a house instead of going between the two places. By February, we owned a house together. I sold my house, moved and we were all together. In April, Joel just wasn’t feeling so good. He was having abdominal and digestive problems. He went to the doctor, had scans and everything seemed fine. Joel was in remission from esophageal cancer from 2019, he had two surgeries and chemo and was doing great when we met. In May of 2022, with what we thought was a bowel obstruction, turned into his cancer spreading and was throughout his intestine. Instead of a benign bowel obstruction, he was obstructed by a cancerous tumor. They would not be able to remove any of the tumors; there were too many. So, we decided to have surgery and bypass the tumor obstruction, choosing the option of having as much time as we could. The plan was for him to start chemo at the end of July. We then knew we needed to live our life together. We went to two Brewers games, took the boys to WI Dells, House on the Rock and WI Badgers Football Spring kick off. After Joel started chemo treatments, he was so sick. In August, we feared a possible obstruction and when that happened, we knew our time was up. We decided we needed to get married. Joel continued with treatments, he was losing weight and not feeling the greatest. On August 27, 2022, we got married in the backyard of the house that we bought together with our close family. On October 24th, we went to the ER because Joel was in extreme abdominal pain and his stomach was enlarged. He was very sick. We celebrated my birthday, which is the 25th and carved pumpkins with the boys for Halloween. We spent all night in the ER. Monday the hospitalist said that the results of labs and scans showed that the tumors had grown and that our time was up. We went home to hospice. I took care of him for four more weeks when he passed away at our home, November 29, 2022. We had been married 92 days. Our time together was not long enough. I had a second chance at a happy life filled with love and I am forever grateful. Cancer sucks!
Shannon’s Story
I was 8 years old when I lost one of the greatest people I knew. My grandma, Darlene, was beautiful, creative and someone I looked up to. She loved her family more than anything else in this world. She was a light in this life. Being so young at the time, I don’t remember when she was first diagnosed with Lung Cancer, the number of appointments she had, or how long she fought for her life. What I do remember is her being with hospice in my living room and getting to spend every one of her last days together as a family.
I remember coming home from school, holding her hand and telling her about my day. I remember the last night she was able to get up and walk; she taught us how to make her homemade dumplings for chicken dumpling soup. I remember the last time I said goodbye, saying “I love you.”
Cancer sucks, and this story is sad, but I learned a lot from my grandma during that time. Unintentionally, the importance of family was emphasized for me. The reminder to be kind and gentle was reinforced, and taking delight in the little things in life is something I always try to remember.
It’s been 24 years now without my grandma, and sometimes it still feels like yesterday. I can still feel her hand in mine when I would tell her about my day. I raise money for cancer research because I believe and have hope that one day we will have a cure, so families don’t have to endure the heartbreak that comes from something none of us asked for.
Wyatt’s Story
I never had the chance to meet two of my grandparents because of cancer. That loss alone planted a seed in me, but it was my aunt’s journey that truly shaped my passion for cancer advocacy. She was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was a child. My aunt was the heart of our family and a pillar in her community. Her home was the gathering place for every Thanksgiving and family reunion. Even during her battle, she remained our source of strength — uplifting us as much as we tried to uplift her. Her resilience was remarkable. She never let go of hope, and she constantly reminded us to hold onto it too. In 2011, we lost her. But her legacy — her strength, warmth, and unwavering spirit — lives on. Her story is my reason. My motivation. My “why.” That’s why the ChemCeed Foundation means so much to me. The work we support provides more than treatment — it offers hope. And to me, hope is everything.
Grace’s Story
I never got to meet one of my grandparents, as they passed away from lung cancer before I was born. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I had experienced loss before, but not due to cancer until college. That’s when everything changed. I lost my aunt to bladder cancer, and it was incredibly hard. We spent weeks together going mini-golfing, getting ice cream, and staying up late playing games in the summer. She had a special way of bringing people together, making everyone feel seen and loved. When she died, it was devastating for our family. The grief hadn’t even begun to settle when her daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the past year, three people close to me have been diagnosed with skin cancer. After all these experiences, I began to worry about my own health. That’s when I found a tumor on my back. I was terrified. Thankfully, it was benign, but that fear is something I’ll never forget. I couldn’t stop thinking about how cancer had already taken so much from us, and how close it felt to taking more. What stood out through it all was the outpouring of support we received from our community, friends, and extended family. That’s why I support the ChemCeed Foundation so deeply. I know what it means to be on the receiving end of compassion during difficult times. I want other families facing the same kind of pain to feel the same support and love that we received.
Angelo’s Story
Cancer has affected the people around me since I was a little boy. I remember attending the funerals of my grandmother, aunt, and great-uncle, who all died of cancer. Losing loved ones, people who were loved and appreciated by my family created a long-lasting impact on us, which can still be felt to this day.
I met my friend Tommy in September of 2019. We immediately became best friends; working on projects together, playing video games together, and going to each other’s houses. He suffered from a serious heart defect which affected his day-to-day life and spent a lot of his life in and out of the hospital. When COVID-19 struck in 2020, we spent hours on calls, playing Minecraft and bickering about video game news well into the night. In the years following the pandemic, Tommy was forced to stay inside because of his condition, and I continued to stay in contact with him. In June of 2023, Tommy received a heart transplant that was supposed to extend his lifespan by several decades. A month after the surgery, we called each other, hopeful about the future. We talked about having parties, connecting with old friends, and working out together. Unfortunately, his condition took an unexpected turn. The heart he received started to develop complications, and he was eventually diagnosed with lymphoma. Tommy was unable to get any treatment for cancer due to his heart, and on January 20, 2024, he passed away. He was 16 years old, and I never got to say goodbye to him. He was one of the closest things I’ve had to a brother.
I support The ChemCeed Foundation with the hope that we can eradicate cancer, and that we can one day see a world where nobody will ever have to witness the funeral of someone who lost their life due to cancer.
I miss you, Tommy. I’ll see you again one day.
For More Information
Are you interested in learning more about the ChemCeed Foundation or how you can help or be helped by the foundation? Please contact us with any questions.
By Mail:
The ChemCeed Foundation
1720 Prosperity Court
Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
By Phone: 715-726-2300
By Email: chemceedfoundation@gmail.com