‘Hammer Away Cancer’ is personal for Aubuchon employees

For the past few years, the Aubuchon Company based in Westminster, MA, has supported Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund with a month-long “Hammer Away Cancer” fundraising campaign in all of its stores. New this year, customers are able to round up their purchase to the next dollar and donate the change, or donate any dollar amount they choose.

 While the program is running in all 107 stores – including Aubuchon Hardware stores, along with newer brands Lyndonville Hardware & Lumber in Vermont, Village Hardware in Virginia, and True Value in Pennsylvania, it could not be more personal to many employees.

Rich Hough, store manager of Aubuchon Hardware in Saranac Lake, NY, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colorectal Cancer in September of 2019. He had surgery to remove a 7-inch tumor from his colon and underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy along with one month of radiation. In the first months of 2021, those treatments led to a brief remission.

Today, however, Rich is being treated for a metastatic tumor on his liver. “I remain working full time as store manager and work around my treatment schedule,” Rich explained. He and his wife held a remarriage ceremony in January of this year. The Hammer Away Cancer program allows the stores’ communities to take a tangible action to support members of the Aubuchon Company family like Rich. 

The Aubuchon Company’s commitment to helping Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund defy cancer also resonates with Sean Keane, store manager at True Value in Richboro, PA. Sean lost his childhood best friend to brain cancer when he was only 7. In 2018, his then 24-year-old sister was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer. She was treated with four rounds of chemotherapy and Sean is thrilled to report that she has been in remission since then. 

However, his grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer the following year and also underwent chemotherapy. She appeared to have defeated the cancer, only to be taken by COVID-19 weeks later. In a cruel occurrence, Sean’s grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after and fell to COVID-19 as well.

 “Cancer has unfortunately always been a word in my vocabulary,” commented Sean. “And with each year that goes by, hopefully there are improvements in the medical field to protect those diagnosed, and to take it out of their daily vocabulary. I’m honored to be a part of this fundraiser, and proud to be a part of the Aubuchon family, who cares to raise money to fight this disease.”

Leigh Gamble, store manager of Aubuchon Hardware in Shelburne, VT, supports Hammer Away Cancer in memory of their beloved Great Aunt Judy, whose ovarian cancer became resistant to known treatments. Leigh has been a booster for the program, posting about it on social media and encouraging their customers to get involved. “I’m hopeful that through working with the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to fund research, we will find options for everyone to keep fighting,” Leigh conveyed. “I didn’t get to say goodbye to my Great Aunt in person due to the pandemic, but I know that through the Aubuchon Foundation’s match to our fundraiser I’ll be giving the gift of changing ‘goodbye’ to ‘hello’ for another person just like me.”

Be sure to stop by your local store through the end of March and help Hammer Away Cancer.