MORRICE — Mary Jo Wegenke’s life is forever divided into two distinct periods: her life before her breast cancer diagnosis, and her life after.
The longtime educator was diagnosed with the disease in 2017. After undergoing chemotherapy treatments and multiple surgeries, she achieved remission in July 2018, but many side effects still linger.
Wegenke routinely experiences chronic pain in her feet as a result of the chemotherapy and her energy level has admittedly never been the same. She now works part-time as the school improvement facilitator at Morrice Area Schools, but Wegenke is also committed to helping those facing a cancer diagnosis, providing treatment starter packs through her nonprofit organization The You’ve Got This Project.
Since it’s inception in 2019, The You’ve Got This Project has provided nearly 260 treatment starter packs to cancer patients across 12 states. The packs contain over-the-counter personal care items — including moisturizer, lip balm and a child-size toothbrush — aimed at alleviating the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
To support the effort, Morrice Area Schools is doing a “Pink Out” for the varsity football team’s Oct. 22 game against Deckerville and the varsity volleyball team’s Oct. 26 game against the International Academy of Flint. T-shirts have already been sold, with all proceeds going to the nonprofit.
Donations can also be made at theyouvegotthisproject.org. PayPal and Venmo are accepted.
“It is wonderful to see how giving people are and how generous they are,” Wegenke said. “It always is just reaffirming. We say our project is very bittersweet. We’re sad that we have to give out treatment starter packs, but we’re happy that we can do that and (give) people hope. We want to give people hope and ease the burden.”
Wegenke recalls her husband Bart Wegenke, who was an Owosso High School principal, constantly making trips to the store throughout her treatment to buy products that doctors advised would help with the side effects. The family ultimately ended up with a packed medicine cabinet, full of some items that worked and some that didn’t.
When a neighbor was diagnosed with colon cancer shortly after Mary Jo Wegenke completed treatment, the couple decided it would be a good idea to deliver a gift basket with a number of those personal care items — a gesture meant to save the family time and money as they grappled with the diagnosis.
“It just kind of spurred from there,” she said. “Then the next person was my boss at the Ingham Intermediate School District. I brought him a pack and it just kind of mushroomed.”
Bart Wegenke, who was principal of Haslett High School at the time, informed his students about what he and his wife had been doing. The school’s honor society did a color run fundraiser in support of the effort shortly thereafter, and it was about that time that a friend suggested the couple organize the effort into a nonprofit.
The couple then began the process of registering the endeavor as a 501(c)(3), and it was around that time they came up with the name: The You’ve Got This Project.
“We want to have a positive connotation because cancer is a heinous disease,” Mary Jo Wegenke said. “That was a big push for the starter packs because when you get that diagnosis, people feel so helpless, like, ‘What do I do for you?’ And so this is a way for people to do something meaningful for somebody that’s diagnosed … If we can take that off people’s plates, (it’s worth it).”
The You’ve Got This Project gained its certification as a nonprofit in 2020 and currently partners with the Breslin Cancer Center in Lansing, providing about 10 packs a month to individuals enrolled in chemotherapy classes — sessions that let people know what to expect before they begin treatment.
For Wegenke, the motivation to help others undergoing treatment stems from her own experience with the disease.
“I didn’t want (cancer) to control me anymore and the decisions I made,” she said. “I thought, it’s such a heinous, negative experience. I’m going to make it better for the person behind me.”
Wegenke joined Morrice Area Schools this fall as school improvement facilitator after serving previous stints with the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District and the Ingham Intermediate School District as a literacy coach/consultant.
Wegenke happened to mention at work one day that The You’ve Got This Project was looking to add a fundraising coordinator. The next day, Morrice Executive Assistant Nikki Johnston informed her that the district was doing a “Pink Out” fundraiser in support of the project.
“Mary Jo does a lot for our district, she took over as the school improvement facilitator and this was something she’s been building up for a while and she’s very passionate about it,” Johnston said. “I thought we should support her, help her out because she does a lot for people, makes them feel good when they’re going through a really rough time.”
Wegenke plans to set up a table at the Oct. 22 football game, offering brochures and information about the project in the hopes of expanding its reach to more people throughout the greater Lansing area and beyond.
The push to continue the mission is, in part, due to the death of Bart Wegenke, who died suddenly of pancreatic cancer in January 2020.
“He was so proud of (the project),” Mary Jo Wegenke said. “He was my biggest cheerleader so I’m happy to do it for him in his honor.”
For more information or to request a starter pack, visit youvegotthisproject.org. All information submitted is confidential and HIPAA protected, Wegenke said.
Donations may be submitted digitally through PayPal (theyouvegotthisproject@gmail.com) or Venmo (The-Youve-Got-This-Project). Checks may also be mailed to P.O. Box 91 Okemos, MI, 48805.
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