Passing the Hat for Kandee DeGraw

Now is the time for Telluride and Kandee DeGraw's army of friends and beneficiaries, from Utah across Colorado and beyond, to give back. As you know, Kandee has been battling cancer for four-plus years.

This is an update to a campaign started for Kandee in 2019, many of the donations were made at that time 4 years ago.

Like many Americans, Kandee is underwater from mounting medical bills. She has a full-time job with the Forest Service but must continue working full-time to keep her insurance (and keep that paycheck coming).

Kandee is receiving a brand new cancer therapy called Tivdak; it's similar to chemo, but a targeted treatment. It's so new that she's the first person in Utah to receive the therapy, a true pioneer! Because the system is "fricken' stupid" (she said it!) this medication costs $55,000 for every treatment. The insurance doesn't cover everything, not by a long shot, leaving Kandee in debt (a good chunk of her salary goes to medical bills), and with escalating expenses. She travels 11 hours round-trip, for treatment, every three weeks; these overnight stays, and then gas, hotel, food, co-pays and pharmacy costs, chip away at what is left of her income.

Our goal: To blow past our modest $30,000 target, so that Kandee can cover her debts and living expenses -- and hopefully cut back on her workload.

At some point, we can anticipate, Kandee will have to stop working, as the side effects from the treatments escalate.

As anyone reading this knows, her many accomplishments -- unfailingly making people laugh with her dry wit; creating art, theater and the beloved Koffee With Kandee column from days past; as well as efficiently running multiple nonprofits over her two-and-a-half decades in Telluride -- are legion.

But founding the Telluride AIDS Benefit (to help Telluride legend Robert Presley, in his final days) is perhaps her most historic achievement. Three decades later, TAB is still going strong. (The first TAB was a comedy show that morphed into a fashion show to raise medical expenses for Robert.)

To date, TAB has raised $3.1 million in donations with beneficiaries ranging from Children's Hospital in Denver and orphanages in Swaziland to schools in other parts of Africa to regional and local hospitals, as well as community education programs in Denver, Grand Junction, Moab, San Miguel County and many more.

If you'd rather send a check please send to: 

Kandee DeGraw

PO Box 10

Escalante, UT 84726

or

Venmo @kandee-Degraw