Catherine Miller was given one week to live.
She had a husband, a 2 year old and a 5-month-old baby when doctors diagnosed her with leukemia.
"I needed a bone marrow transplant," she said. "I found a match in Germany and I had the transplant at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas."
Four years later, Miller, 40, is in remission and with her husband David Miller, a 44-year-old University of Memphis alumnus, she started the nonprofit organization American Cancer Assistance.
"My husband and I saw a need to help people and it changed our lives going through that experience and we decided to start a nonprofit," Catherine said.
ACA, a three-year-old nonprofit, helps uninsured cancer patients and their families with medical costs.
Formerly a Transportation Security Administration Agent for an airport, Catherine said help from ACA could include copays for doctor's visits, travel and hotel expenses and even utility bills.
"I want people to have a home to come back to after they've fought the battle to beat cancer and I also want them to have the means to live," she said. "It makes me happy to be able to give back and to know that people are depending on me. We have several patients right now who have breast cancer and can't go to work. Even at St. Jude where treatments are free, someone has to stay there and take off work and take care of that child, so it's a tough situation."
People can donate to ACA in the Oak Court Mall on Poplar Ave from now through Dec. 24 during regular mall hours.
Near the Dillard's women's department in the mall, ACA volunteers have set up a gift wrap table where people can pay four, five or six dollars for small, medium or large gifts to be wrapped, respectively. The fees include box, paper and ribbon. Proceeds benefit ACA.
The non-profit has raised about $400 through gift-wrapping services since Friday.
Catherine, who serves as the volunteer coordinator of ACA, said they accept debit, credit and cash and that donations are tax-deductible.
David, who received his master's degree in management information systems in 2011 at the U of M specifically for ACA, said he is excited about the gift-wrapping campaign.
"Right now we have around five volunteers and we will need additional volunteers around this weekend," he said. "We can teach them to be a gift wrapper. All they have to have is the desire to want to help."
Jeffrey Miller, 41, David's brother and a volunteer gift wrapper, said the work isn't too challenging and he's "pretty good at it."
"There's usually a lot of people watching and people that come by and they have presents and there are people that stop and want to see what you're doing," he said. "It's pretty easy wrapping presents, but we have gotten a few odd ones that were a challenge."
Miller said people are excited and relieved to have someone wrap their presents for them.
"That way you can just take it and put it under the tree," he said. "Plus, [ACA] is a really good organization. They're are a unique nonprofit and trying to get a good thing started and help as many people as they can."
Interested volunteers can receive more information by calling David at 901-486-1183.
