For the second time in less than five years, the Carl and Lulu Mitchell Family Foundation has made a $1 million gift to Community Medical Centers – this latest one to support the Community Cancer Institute.
 
The gift will help provide such services as breast cancer technology and treatment, early cancer detection, and nurse navigators who guide patients through every step of their complex care. Community Cancer Institute rivals major cancer facilities in Los Angeles and the Bay Area by providing a full range of cancer experts, technologies and services under one roof.
 
As a breast cancer survivor and former registered nurse for several years at Community Medical Centers, Lulu Mitchell experienced the importance of life-saving cancer care and what it means to have it close to home – as did Carl, who lost both parents to cancer.
 
“Those experiences gave us perspective, and it’s eye-opening when you realize that your life is on the line and these are the people and treatments that can save you,” Carl Mitchell said. “We’ve had our share of cancer in our family, so we know how important it is to help others in the Valley who battle cancer.”
 
Lulu Mitchell also stressed the importance of so many services in one location.
 
“When I was diagnosed in 2002, I had to travel from appointment to appointment at different places,” she said. “It was stressful, and I hope we can help eliminate that for other families who won’t have to travel to receive the best care.”
 
“Gifts like this from Carl and Lulu’s foundation are truly transformative. They allow us to keep striving for higher and higher levels of care,” Community’s President and CEO Tim Joslin said. “Fighting cancer requires so many resources, and this is the kind of generosity that makes it possible.”
 
Since opening last August, Community Cancer Institute has taken more than 50,000 patient appointments and has become the Valley’s premier cancer care facility, located on the Clovis Community Medical Center campus.
 
Both Mitchells have been part of the Community family over the years – Lulu as a nurse and Carl as a radiology technologist and later as a nuclear medicine technologist. They gave their first $1 million gift to Women’s and Children’s Services at Clovis Community in 2014, where Lulu enjoyed her work as a postpartum nurse for several years before her retirement.
 
“We’re really fortunate to have people in our community like Carl and Lulu. They understand what it means to give and make a giant impact,” Community Medical Foundation CEO Katie Zenovich said. “And what an awesome statement that they both are former Community Medical Centers employees. It truly shows how much they believe in our mission to take care of everyone who turns to us in need.”
 
About Carl and Lulu Mitchell Family Foundation
The Mitchells’ foundation is focused on supporting healthcare in the Valley, with an understanding that philanthropy is a way for the family to help take care of others in need. Carl and Lulu Mitchell believe donating is a way for them to serve others, their community and their faith.