Coming up on her year as Worthy Grand Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star’s Iowa Chapter, Cheryl Payne knew she needed to come up with an idea for a fundraising project. She had a few ideas, but wasn’t settled on anything until she heard Gail McGaughy, an On With Life outpatient physical therapist, on WHO radio talking about On With Life’s Parkinson’s Disease program.
And that was it. Cheryl knew this was the route she wanted to take with the project. Cheryl had become passionate about Parkinson’s after her father was diagnosed and she became his caregiver. She had experienced the disease up close and personal so upon hearing Gail’s interview, she pulled over and began taking notes about On With Life. She brought the idea to the Worthy Grand Patron, John Whitatker, who had also experienced Parkinson’s within his family, and the two of them moved forward with contacting and visiting On With Life.
“We decided we wanted to educate people, let them know that On With Life is there, ready and willing to help,” said Cheryl. “We just knew we had to let the world know about this wonderful facility, the staff and the work they do.”
They spent a year traveling to chapters throughout Iowa to talk about their goal and held multiple fundraising events from bake sales to a very successful golf outing that On With Life staff were able
to participate in. In October 2022, the group presented On With Life with a check of More than $47,000 at their Grand Chapter Session, all to be used toward future Parkinson’s programming.
“The generosity of our members is just so overwhelming – the Eastern Star hasn’t raised that much money in years,” said Cheryl. “So many people had a loved one, neighbor or friend with Parkinson’s and shared my passion of making a difference in the lives of those who are suffering from the disease and those who care for them.”