Category: Champion Spotlight

Before Gilda’s Club Madison became a place of hope and connection, it was just an idea. Wayne Harris of 6AM Marketing played an instrumental role in bringing that vision to life and later served as Chair of our Board of Directors after our iconic red doors opened.  Now, 19 years later, we have entered a…

Georgia became involved with Gilda’s Club Wisconsin around seven years ago. But, like many good stories, Georgia’s connection to Gilda’s goes all the way back to childhood. A few years ago, when she made the move to Madison from Green Bay, she connected with a childhood friend of hers. That friend was Ginny Lee, longtime…

“There was just something about Gilda’s Club that really stood out to me,” shares Nina Braovac, the Amy Nickles Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD) volunteer award winner for 2025. She started her involvement at Gilda’s Club in October 2022, at Noogiefest, our Halloween social. She’d heard about the need for volunteers through…

Volunteer and donor Gerry Klump makes sure Gilda’s Club is here for all Gerry Klump is a familiar face around Gilda’s Club. You may have seen him volunteer at a program event, at Gilda’s Run/Walk with his entire family, at the Red Door Society Appreciation event, or at Gilda’s Backyard BBQ. Like many folks who…

Wayne Harris has been a driving force behind Gilda’s Club for over 18 years. “This is an organization that people support. They won’t let it go away,” he shares. You might know Wayne through his company, 6AM Marketing, or from his leadership on nonprofit boards across Madison, including Ronald McDonald House and the American Red…

“When I first started attending Gilda’s Club in 2009, I was newly diagnosed with breast cancer,” shares Jamie Steckelberg, the Amy Nickles Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (ABCD) Award Winner for 2024. Jamie first came to Gilda’s Club as a member, attending Family Night with her partner and their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Jamie’s connection…

Barbara and Norm Berven’s love story began in an unexpected way: after they both experienced losses due to cancer.  Barbara lost her first husband, Bernie, to multiple myeloma in 2008. Norm’s first wife, Stella, was a good friend of Barbara and supported her through both her first husband’s diagnosis and after he passed. Later, when…