Cancer Patient Receives $9,500 Check From Royal Oak Police, Fire

ROYAL OAK, MI — Last month, Royal Oak police officers and firefighters played a charity game to raise money for one of the area’s biggest community supporters in her battle against cancer. This week, the city’s first-responders presented Carrie Chambers with a $9,500 check to help cover medical and other bills.

“We’ve had a lot of great causes in the past, but this year really reminded us of why we do this,” Royal Oak Police Sgt. Patrick Stanton told the Daily Tribune. “I had people reach out to me and say how much Carrie and her husband have done for other people.”

Along with Fire Sgt. Tony Cattini, Stanton help start the Guns & Hoses charity game. Cattini went to high school with Chambers in Clawson and heard of her plight last year, the newspaper reported.

“It was apparent from what I heard about her how big of a positive impact she and her husband have had on Clawson,” Cattini said prior to the game. “Now we have an excellent chance to give back to her after all she has give to others.”

(For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Royal Oak Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Chambers is a lifelong resident of Clawson. A mother of three, Chambers, 42, and her husband Tom Perry have been struggling to make ends meet since Chambers lost her job while undergoing a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, the Daily Tribune reported. She was grateful for the check.

“It’s so amazing,” Chambers told the newspaper. “It’s incredible to see two communities join as one and do something like this. We’re used to doing fundraisers for others -- it’s beautiful to see how karma works.”
Chambers is still the PTA president at Clawson Middle School. She has done everything from helping special needs children to raising thousands of dollars for a family left homeless by a house fire. In recent weeks Chambers has been involved in raising money for an 8-year-old girl’s education fund after her mother died, the Daily Tribune reported.

About 350 people attended the April charity hockey game. Stanton and Cattini raised a near-record amount of money to give the Chambers family.

“It was the second-highest donation we were able to give in our seven years of playing the hockey games,” Stanton told the newspaper. “I had people calling me as soon as we announced we were doing it for Carrie. We knew we had something special.”

Photo courtesy of the city of Royal Oak