SUMMERSVILLE, WV (WOAY) – Jeremy Farmer, an officer with the Summersville Police Department, was just recently diagnosed with cancer. Now, the community is coming together to show support and help offset some of the costs as he begins treatment.
“We’re all a family,” Lt. Alec Anderson with the Summersville Police Department, said. “And he has all our support and anything he needs, he knows he can ask for it.”
However, when it comes to the way the community responded, he did not have to ask for it.
The Summersville Police Department found out about Officer Farmer’s cancer diagnosis, and they knew they had to do something.
Farmer also works part time as a security guard at Summersville Regional Medical Center, and they also wanted to help out, so on Friday, they took one hallway of the hospital to sell raffle tickets to fundraise.
Melissa Deitz, who worked with Farmer as a registration clerk, helped to get the donations in order.
“And we all hope that if that was us that you know, someone would step up and do that for us also, so we’re just, you know, as a close-knit family, hospital family, community family and WVU has just come in and embraced it and made it even larger, so that’s been a true blessing for us here,” Deitz said.
Local businesses and community members donated the baskets and many came by to the buy tickets. For hospital employees like Nova Short, who has been through a similar situation, she knows how much this means.
“It’s great. It really is because I know that when this is going on you really, that support feels so good. Kind of picks your spirits up a little bit to know that somebody’s out there and caring about you. I really love it that the community came together and donated so much and all the employees. It’s wonderful,” Short said.
While Officer Farmer is focused on his treatments, he’s appreciative of his two work families and the community who have his back.
“Jeremy just wanted me to stress how appreciative he was of everyone’s donations,” Lt. Anderson said.
There is a Go Fund Me set up called Officer Farmer’s Cancer Fund. Click here to access it.
