Sabrina Black Foundation Donates Assets to Gilda’s Club

After several years operating The Sabrina Black Foundation, founder and Lake Orion resident Steve Black has decided he wanted to find another way to honor his wife's memory and still support cancer patients.

Black decided to turn over the Foundation’s assets totaling $50,099.09 to . The donation was made Aug. 9. 

The Sabrina Black Foundation has provided financial support for cancer patients through the reimbursement of hospital and doctor visits, copays and other medical costs. The Foundation has awarded $71,000 to cancer patients. 

Gilda’s Club, which does not provide financial assistance to individuals, will honor existing contracts to cancer patients totaling $13,013.18.  The remaining funds will support program activities. “The only change for our existing patients will be mailing their bills to a different address and person, everything else remains the same,” Black said. 

Black started the Sabrina Black Foundation in 2006 in memory of his wife, Sabrina, a long-time local radio personality. Sabrina was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease at age 35 and died six years later in March 2006. 

“The primary reason for starting the Foundation was to first and foremost help people, and for me personally to feel a connection to Sabrina,” Black said. “After years of operation, it had become clear that I was being connected to the wrong memories. Instead of remembering Sabrina’s smile and her charm, I was forced to remember medical bills and difficult times.” 

Black decided to turn over the Foundation’s assets to Gilda’s Club because both he and Sabrina were members and found comfort and knowledge there. After Sabrina’s death, Steve attended the spouses’s bereavement group at Gilda’s Club. 

“It's impossible to say what someone else would have wanted, but as her husband and care giver for the last six years of her life I knew her better than anyone else on the planet, and I feel comfortable knowing she would have supported this move whole heartedly. We can continue to raise money in her name and be part of a much bigger charity with Gilda's Club,” Steve said. 

Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit, located in Royal Oak, provides cost-free support to people affected by cancer. The Club offers support groups, education lectures, workshops (art, yoga, music activities, guided imagery, and more), children and teen activities, bereavement groups, and social events. The funds from the Foundation will support these type of program activities.

“We were truly honored and grateful that Steve Black and the (Sabrina Black Foundation) board members chose Gilda’s Club as the recipient of the assets. I think this donation is a testament to the impact that this organization has on the lives of people who participate in our program activities,” said Heather Hall, executive director at Gilda’s Club.