Hart & Patterson Donates $20,000 to Cooley Dickinson Breast Center

NORTHAMPTON — For a women-owned financial-services firm that thrives on relationships, the local community matters. So when it came time to name the recipient of a special charitable gift in honor of their firm’s 25th anniversary, the choice was easy … and personal.

“Our vision of community is taking care of each other,” said Cheryl Patterson, co-founder of Hart & Patterson Financial Group. “Taking care of each other means we are our brothers’ — and our sisters’ — keepers. This is how we run our firm, and it’s the legacy we seek to create with our gift to Cooley Dickinson’s new Breast Center.”

For Patterson and partners Vikki Lenhart and Sue Patterson, the firm’s recent $20,000 gift to the Breast Center was deeply personal. Their colleague, partner, and friend, co-founder Lorraine Hart, had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Through that experience, Cheryl Patterson noted, “we learned the importance of locally available services.”

Touring the center as it was being built and learning about its impact on thousands of community members made Cooley Dickinson an easy choice for Hart & Patterson’s generous gift.

“We felt that supporting the Breast Center is the perfect way to show our appreciation by helping individuals prevent and fight breast cancer,” Lenhart said.

The Breast Center, which opened July 31, brings together advanced diagnostic capabilities with skilled, compassionate staff and physicians in an easy-to-navigate, patient-centered environment.

The center takes a multi-disciplinary approach to breast health, with comprehensive services including breast exams, breast screening, diagnostic breast imaging, biopsy and wire localization, ultrasound, and bone-density screening.

The Beveridge Family Foundation has offered a challenge: if $50,000 is raised by the end of August, the center will receive a $25,000 capping grant. For information on making a gift to the Breast Center, e-mail jbmargolis@cooleydickinson.org or call (413) 582-2684.