The gift of giving back

For longtime Fred Hutch Cancer Center volunteers Karen Leslie and David Hopkins, no two days are alike. On one recent Monday, Leslie and Hopkins spent their volunteer shift at the Gift Shop at the Sloan Clinic. The next day, they were supporting a project with the philanthropy team.

As Fred Hutch celebrates its milestone 50th anniversary this year, the organization shares over 30 of those years with Leslie and Hopkins. 

Serving as 'surrogate families'

For many years, Leslie and Hopkins have served as patient family volunteers, acting as “surrogate families” for out-of-town patients. They’ve met over 70 people through the process, forming friendships over dinner and lunch stops as well as during rides between airports and clinics.

Many of the patients still keep in touch with them today.

“Our favorite memories from here are the people that we’ve met,” said Leslie.

The first patient family they met was a married couple from Florida. After that couple returned home, the wife called Leslie and Hopkins to let them know that her husband had died. They picked up the phone at 3 a.m. and flew weeks later to visit the widow.

The funeral was in Florida in an all-Black church with no air conditioning. Tropical storms from the night before had knocked out the power. Even so, “when the choir sang,” said Hopkins, “it was like hearing angels.”

They were introduced by the pastor as the couple’s friends from Seattle. When the service ended, every guest in the church came up to them to shake hands and thank them for their support during treatment. After the service, the family treated Leslie and Hopkins to lunch, soul food. The couple has supported patients and their families in many different ways.

In another instance, while having lunch with Leslie and Hopkins, a different patient got a call that her cancer had returned five years after her last treatment. What she thought was a weekend trip to Seattle snowballed into a year-long stay. She told Leslie that she’d only packed for three days. Leslie immediately provided the woman with her own clothes.

“We happened to be the same size,” she said simply.

When the patient told the couple that she and her husband were having a difficult time finding housing on such short notice, they hosted them in their home for a month.

“Since we’re retired, it gives us a purpose,” Leslie said of their more than three decades of volunteering with Fred Hutch.

“Hopefully we’ve helped some people going through a difficult time and let them know there are people in Seattle that care about them.” – Karen Leslie

A legacy of gratitude

For many volunteers – and employees -- at Fred Hutch, the organization’s mission resonates on a personal level. For Leslie and Hopkins, it’s no different – both are cancer survivors. Leslie finished treatment for breast cancer in the 1990s; David underwent radiation for prostate cancer in 2022.

“The staff is incredible, everyone is so caring,” recalled Hopkins. He made a custom card for his care team using puns from chocolate bar names to describe his time during treatment.

“I thank every nurse that comes into the Gift Shop for being a nurse,” he said.

During a recent volunteer shift Leslie added: “It’s true. He’s done it all morning.”

Thirty-one years ago, Fred Hutch was in a very different place. It physically was – the organization had just moved to South Lake Union from Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood. It would be seven more years before Fred Hutch opened its first clinic building in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Leslie and Hopkins have had a front-seat view of decades of innovation and advancements.

What has kept them walking through the door day-after-day is characteristically simple.

 “We like the people we’re working with and we like their mission,” said Leslie.

“Though they keep changing their name on us,” she noted. (In 1975, the organization originally formed as Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In 2022, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center merged with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to form Fred Hutch Cancer Center and restructured its relationship with UW Medicine, integrating clinical patient care)

Reflecting on this year’s 50th anniversary, the volunteer couple didn’t ask too much for the future.

“Keep making advances and keep making people well,” said Leslie. “They’re doing a good job of it.” 

Interested in volunteering with Fred Hutch? Visit the Patient and Family Volunteer page to learn more about getting involved.