Bags a blessing in disguise

SPECIAL STAFF: Jennifer Burns, who serves as Sales Director at The Bridge at Cherry Hill, along with Anny Ratheau and Anna Traficante enjoyed helping fill the unique Blessing Bags Tuesday in Johnston.

TEAM TRACY: Brookdale Pocasset Bay’s Business Coordinator Tracy Cale enjoys a lighter moment with Carol Vincent who helped fill a host of Blessing Bags that will help women who are battling cancer.

HELPING HANDS: Dawn St. James (center), Sales & Marketing Manager at Brookdale Pocasset Bay, is all smiles and joined by residents Maria Patonio and Rita Gariety during Tuesday’s filling of the Blessing Bags.

CHRIS’ CORNER: Christine Soave Crum (right), President-Owner of Gentry moving & Storage and the Pampered Chef, holds one of the Blessing Bags Florence Mary filled Tuesday at Brookdale Pocasset Bay in Johnston. (Sun Rise photos by Pete Fontaine)

Posted Friday, June 8, 2018 3:05 pm

By Pete Fontaine

Gentry Moving & Storage is about to make one of the most important deliveries in the Cranston-based company’s storied history.

The Gentry group, which is owned and operated by Johnston residents Brian and Christine Crum, is participating in a Pampered Chef fundraiser that includes delivering 500 Blessing Bags too the Oncology Unit at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence.

Christine Soave Crum, Gentry’s President-Owner, visited Brookdale Pocasset Bay’s Senior Living Community Tuesday to explain what her company was doing and as well as to get assistance from the staff and residents at the facility.

Crum explained that she’s also part of another company – Pampered Chef – and is calling upon a myriad of people to help fill what she called “Blessing Bags” that meant to be a special show of support and caring for women who are beginning their chemotherapy journey.

She’s also calling on as many people who’d like to be involved to donate $15 that will provide a complete Blessing Bag that Gentry Moving will, in fact, soon be taking to Women & Infants Hospital.

“The Blessing Bags are also meant to be a little happy gift, a bit of sunshine in the midst of a very scary time these women,” Crum said Tuesday afternoon while working with Brookdale Pocasset Bay staffers and residents to assemble the unique gifts. “I’m hoping that lots and lots of people want to get involved with this program.”

Initially, Crum was hoping to create 250 to 300 bags but she’d like that total to grow to somewhere around what she called “our overarching goal is 1,000 Blessing Bags” that will be delivered to the Oncology Department at Women & Infants Hospital.

During Tuesday’s emotional and fun-filled assembly of the Blessing Bags, Crum announced that “the people at Women & Infants (Hospital) are so thankful and excited about this donation and it’s got me super charged to make it a big one!”

Jennifer Burns, the Sales Director/Marketing Manager at the Bridge at Cherry was among those women helping assemble the Blessing Bag Tuesday.

“What Christine is doing is special,” Burns said as she completed filling a Blessing Bag Tuesday afternoon. “These bags are also part of her ‘Help Whip Cancer’ Campaign.”

Tracy Cale, Brookdale Pocasset’s Business Development Coordinator and Dawn St. James, the Sales & Marketing Manager, echoed Burns’ sentiments while adding “this is also a lot of fun for our residents who are happy to be involved in such an important program.”

So, Gentry Moving, which is also known for its on-going sponsorships of many charity events, and Crum’s Pampered Chef business is filling the Blessing Bags with fuzzy socks, a pen, puzzle book, lip gloss, book mark, nail file, Kleenex, mints, twist it clips and a stress ball.

Crum also announced Tuesday she’s welcome “things” for the Blessing Bags like prayer cards…anything is great,” she noted. “If anyone would like to help or sponsor a bag, please contact me at christine@gentrymoving.com or 641-0223 so we can whip cancer together.”