Compassionate Care Foundation

10/08/2026

🌟 SPOTLIGHT ON OUR COMPASSIONATE AMBASSADOR OF FUNDRAISING! 🌟

Some people don’t just show up for a cause — they help make it possible. 💗

Today, we’re shining the spotlight on Christine Strobert, our incredible Compassionate Ambassador of Fundraising for the Bridge the Gap Walk! 🌉

For THREE YEARS IN A ROW, Chris has been our top fundraiser, and this year she went above and beyond, raising an incredible $17,000+! 🎉👏

Chris, your dedication, generosity, and unwavering commitment to The Compassionate Care Foundation make a tremendous difference in the lives of local cancer patients and their families. Every dollar you raise helps us provide integrative supportive therapies at NO COST to those navigating a cancer journey.

Because of compassionate people like you, more patients can experience comfort, connection, and the reminder that they never have to walk this journey alone. 💗

Three years. An extraordinary impact. One incredible heart. ❤️

Please join us in celebrating Chris and thanking her for being such a powerful force for compassion in our community! Drop her some love in the comments! 👏💗

10/03/2026

Some stories stay with you. ❤️

This young woman, Clarissa Navara, beautifully shared how our Foundation’s services touched her father and her family during his cancer journey. Her words were filled with love, gratitude, and something we believe deeply in — the power of community.

We are honored that her heartfelt essay earned a check for our Foundation, turning her experience into hope and support for other families facing cancer.

Thank you for sharing your story and for understanding that when we come together, we can make a difference. 💙

Meet Thousand Islands Central High School student Clarissa Nevala.

For Clarissa, her hometown of Clayton is “a place where the meaning of community truly comes to life every day. Here, neighbors don’t just recognize each other; they genuinely care for one another.”

“Last year, when my father was diagnosed with cancer, my family saw the incredible compassion of this community. Friends, neighbors, and even those we barely knew reached out, offered to lend a hand, and simply be there for us,” she wrote in her winning essay. “Their support made an overwhelming time feel less awful and reminded us we weren't alone.”

Clarissa is a Northern New York Community Foundation Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge winner. She chose the Compassionate Care Foundation to receive a $1,000 grant to support its work and mission.

“The Compassionate Care Foundation makes everyday life for some so much more meaningful by helping people who have been diagnosed with cancer access holistic and alternative therapies to support them during their cancer treatment and recovery,” she wrote. “The Foundation has personally impacted my family so positively by supporting my father and family through a very hard time. My dad has felt like this has made a significant impact on how he feels every day and is increasing his odds for beating cancer.”

Clarissa recently met with representatives from the Compassionate Care Foundation and presented a $1,000 Youth Giving Challenge grant that will help it continue its work. The grant is made possible by gifts to the Friends of the Foundation Community Betterment Annual Fund, corporate support from Community Bank, N.A. and a major gift from an individual donor.

Pictured, from left: Compassionate Care Foundation CEO and Founder Monica Behan, Youth Giving Challenge winner Clarissa Nevala, and Community Bank Watertown Arsenal Street branch Retail Service Officer Sandra Burnett.

We are grateful to Clarissa for her thoughtful effort. We are even more impressed that she is one of dozens of tri-county youths who looked inside their communities to recognize an organization that works to improve quality of life. Clarissa is the daughter of Bobbi and Mark Nevala, Clayton.

The 2025-2026 Youth Giving Challenge asked seventh, eighth, and ninth-grade students from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties to explain in an essay what community means to them and to choose a nonprofit that embodies their definition of community. Clarissa’s essay is one of 20 chosen from nearly 80 submissions that came from 26 different tri-county schools.

Look for more photos and stories behind the Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge in the coming weeks.

09/25/2026

💙 Cancer doesn’t just happen to one person. It happens to a family. 💙

When someone hears the words “you have cancer,” life changes for everyone who loves them. Spouses become caregivers. Children carry fears they may not know how to express. Parents, siblings, and loved ones experience their own worry, grief, and uncertainty.

At The Compassionate Care Foundation, we believe no one in that family should have to navigate those feelings alone.

We are incredibly excited and grateful to share that, through the generous support of the Northern New York Community Foundation (NNYCF), we are expanding our programs to include family counseling and grief support services.

This is an important step in our mission to care for the whole person — and the whole family — throughout the cancer journey and beyond.

And there is something especially meaningful about this grant for us. NNYCF has been the wind beneath our wings since the very beginning of The Compassionate Care Foundation. They believed in our mission early on, supported our growth, and continue to stand beside us as we expand what is possible for families facing cancer in our community.

We are deeply grateful for their continued trust, partnership, and belief in the difference compassionate care can make.

09/15/2026

This year's Bridge The Gap Walk was nothing short of inspirational!!

Standing beneath and walking across the Thousand Islands Bridge, surrounded by survivors, caregivers, families, friends, and supporters from across the North Country, the community’s compassion, strength, and unity were unmistakable.

We are endlessly grateful for the incredible 1000 Islands Bridge Authority staff and the team at the 1000 Islands Welcome Center – your support, coordination, and kindness make this event possible year after year.

To every single person who showed up, donated, walked, volunteered, or simply stood in solidarity: thank you. You are the heart of the Compassionate Care Foundation’s mission to bridge the gap in cancer care. Your presence helps provide integrative therapies, comfort, and hope to local patients and families navigating one of life’s hardest journeys.

Together, we proved once again that in the North Country, no one fights alone. 💛

📸 by: Kara Dry Photography

09/13/2026

Today is the day!! We are getting ready to kick off our 3rd Annual Bridge The Gap Walk!!

You still have time to join us throughout the day! Live music, community and more!

09/11/2026

We’re thrilled to share that Frontenac Crystal Springs is once again supporting Bridge The Gap 2026 at the North Country Welcome Center/1000 Islands Bridge!

For the second year in a row, participants will receive a beautiful one-of-a-kind custom tumblers – and that’s not all! They’ve also generously donated 100 gallons of fresh spring water to help keep everyone hydrated throughout the event.

This annual walk is only possible because of our incredible sponsors, partners, community members, friends, and families. Your support truly makes a difference.

Tumblers will be available while supplies last, so be sure to get there early and grab yours when you register or sign in on Sunday!

09/11/2026

Join Us at the 3rd Annual Bridge The Gap Walk!

There’s Still Time to Make a Difference.

The Compassionate Cancer Care Foundation is gearing up for our 3rd Annual Bridge The Gap Walk, and we’d love for you to be part of this meaningful community event.

THIS SUNDAY, we come together to honor loved ones, support local patients, and walk across the iconic Thousand Islands Bridge in a powerful show of unity and hope.

Your support helps provide integrative cancer care therapies, services that bring comfort, healing, and strength to patients right here in Northern New York.

Whether you walk with us, start a team, or make a donation, your impact matters.

👉 There’s still time to help. Donate or register today:
https://charity.pledgeit.org/BridgeTheGap26

Every step, every dollar, and every act of support helps ensure that no one in our community faces cancer alone.

💙 Together, we can Bridge The Gap. 💙

Take part in the 3rd annual walk across the Thousand Island Bridge to support the work of the Compassionate Care Foundation (CCF). This event is an opportunity to bring our community together to raise awareness and funds for complementary, integrative care for local cancer patients. The Compassionat...

09/09/2026

Downtown Watertown 6:18 am and on my way to promote our Bridge The Gap walk. This is what Community looks like in upstate New York ! Thank you Les Shockley and Channel 7, Johnny and The Border, Tim Sweeney and Tunes 92.5, thank you for the love!💗

09/08/2026

THIS SUNDAY we look forward to sharing a day of community, connection, support, and love, as we walk together across the Thousand Islands Bridge to raise money for Compassionate Care Foundation patient services in the North Country!

There is still time to register! Even if you don't want to walk across the bridge, there are vendors, family activities, food trucks and much more to enjoy as we gather together in support of our neighbors, family members and community who are impacted by cancer.

Click on the event link below and sign up today!!

Take part in the 3rd annual walk across the Thousand Island Bridge to support the work of the Compassionate Care Foundation (CCF). This event is an opportunity to bring our community together to raise awareness and funds for complementary, integrative care for local cancer patients. The Compassionat...