D'Aurora

WEIRTON — The Disciples Women’s group at First Christian Church in Weirton will hold its fall meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 16. The theme will be “Blessings Fall from Heaven.” The guest speaker will be Patricia D’Aurora, an officer in the Cancer Dietary Initiative of Steubenville. The meeting’s service project will be collecting pouches of tuna, which is needed for the CDI’s monthly care baskets for cancer patients and their families. A cash donation will be accepted as well, officials noted. All women in the church and throughout the community are invited to attend by contacting the church secretary at (304) 797-7300 to make a reservation. Refreshments will follow the meeting.

CDI is a nonprofit organization started by Dr. Pervaiz Rahman and a group of volunteers in 2013. Rahman had noticed his patients were losing additional weight and seeming more malnourished than he thought they should be, despite their cancer. He questioned his patients and learned how they were foregoing buying food in order to purchase medicine or pay their household’s bills. The program began with 18 patients. Today, it serves approximately 70 patients each month. Food is distributed on the third Saturday of every month at the First Westminster Church in Steubenville. It is open to any local cancer patient who is in active treatment, registered with ehe CDI and who is referred by a doctor.

CDI relies on the generosity of community residents who donate or fundraise to the cause. Patients usually receive enough food for seven days in which to make nutritious meals. Rahman is still involved with the organization and can sometimes be seen at the distributions alongside volunteers throughout the community who distribute the food to patients by placing the bags of items in their vehicles.