ALPENA — Friends Together, a local nonprofit cancer support organization serving Northeast Michigan, has launched their annual Gas Card Challenge.

The group is calling on individuals and businesses within their six-county service area (Alcona, Alpena, Iosco, Montmorency, Oscoda and Presque Isle counties) to donate gas cards in March and April to help reach their $15,000 fundraising goal. Gas cards of any dollar amount and from any station brand can be dropped off or mailed to Friends Together at 105 Prentiss St., Alpena, MI, 49707.

Monetary donations in lieu of gas cards are also welcomed. Online contributions can be made at bit.ly/2025GAS.

“Our annual Gas Card Challenge is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year,” said Friends Together Executive Director Melissa Burns. “Without the the support of our generous community pitching in, we would not be able to provide as much assistance with transportation to cancer care as we do.”

Friends Together provides between $5,000 and $6,000 in gas cards monthly to cancer patients, helping them offset the costs of traveling for cancer-related appointents and treatment. Examples of the type of transportation gas cards are issued for can range from someone needing to access care far from their home (Ann Arbor, Detroit, Chicago) to someone who is traveling a shorter distance but more often.

“Chemotherapy can be multiple times a week,” Friends Together Programs Coordinator Malinda Amlotte said. “Patients undergoing radiation therapy are often scheduled for treatment five days a week. You can see how costs add up in a hurry, even for those who travel within our region to the Cancer Center here in Alpena.”

She added, “Our gas card program helps break down barriers to care by taking some of this financial weight off the shoulders of patients who are carrying the heavy burden of this disease.”

Friends Together’s goal of raising $15,000 in this two-month Gas Card Challenge campaign amounts to just under 25% of their expected annual gas card distribution total. This does not include the costs associated with transportation provided by the organization’s vans and volunteer drivers.

For more information about Friends Together’s supports and services for cancer patients and their families, call 989-356-3231 or drop by their Alpena office.