For Sam Sorbello and Glenn Parker, the Pink Clover Foundation is more than a nonprofit organization.
It is family.
That family began with Colleen Sorbello, Sam’s late wife and Parker’s sister, whose own battle with metastatic breast cancer inspired a mission that has since raised more than $1.4 million and provided support to women facing the disease.
Colleen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. Further testing revealed the cancer had spread to her liver, making it stage four metastatic breast cancer from the beginning.
Over the next four years, she underwent multiple forms of chemotherapy and treatment. Through it all, one goal remained particularly important: She wanted to attend her son’s wedding in August 2017.
In the months before the wedding, Sam took Colleen to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas in search of additional treatment. Her health continued to decline, but she returned home and made it to the wedding.
“She looked remarkable,” Sam recalled. “She did everything she wanted to do.”
Colleen died in September 2017.
But during her treatment, another idea had begun taking shape.
As Colleen received chemotherapy and radiation, she recognized that she and Sam were fortunate enough to handle many of the financial costs associated with cancer treatment. Other patients around her were not.
A visit to a breast-cancer research laboratory at the University of New Haven further inspired her to create a foundation that could support women confronting both cancer and financial hardship.
Though Colleen’s declining health prevented her from bringing that vision to fruition herself, her family carried it forward.
The Colleen Sorbello Breast Cancer Foundation officially began its fundraising efforts in 2018 and is now widely known as Pink Clover. Pink represents breast-cancer awareness, while the clover is a nod to Colleen’s Irish heritage and maiden name, McInnes.
The volunteer-run foundation focuses on three areas: comfort, research and education. But Parker said comfort is at the heart of the mission.
Since 2018, Pink Clover has helped more than 110 women directly through its Comfort Recipient program.
Recipients can receive grants to help with financial needs, but the relationship frequently extends well beyond a check.
“They’re literally like family, if they so desire,” Sam explained.
Foundation members remain in contact with recipients, sometimes speaking weekly. Women who continue experiencing financial difficulties can return to the organization for assistance with expenses such as energy bills, while a social worker on Pink Clover’s board can help connect families with additional programs and resources.
Recipients also have an opportunity to participate in a monthly call where women can connect, share their experiences and support one another.
“We don’t forget about them,” Sam said. “We just don’t give them the check and say, ‘We’ll talk to you later.’ They become part of our network.”
Pink Clover also provides patient-assistance funding to health-care partners that can be used for needs including rent, mortgages, utilities and groceries.
The organization’s reach has grown significantly.
Its six health-care partners include Inspira, Virtua, AtlantiCare, Jefferson, Penn and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven. While most Comfort Recipients come from South Jersey, Philadelphia, Delaware and the broader Mid-Atlantic region, the foundation has also helped women as far away as Florida and Texas and established a significant presence in Connecticut.
Since 2018, Pink Clover has distributed approximately $325,000 in individual grants and $175,000 in partner funding. It has contributed about $375,000 toward breast-cancer research, including support for the University of New Haven research lab named in Colleen’s honor and a five-year research partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
Another $45,000 has supported student scholarships, including students working in research and local high-school graduates pursuing medical careers.
The foundation also emphasizes small gestures of encouragement.
Since 2022, volunteers have assembled more than 6,000 Comfort Kits for chemotherapy and radiation patients, including more than 1,800 this year alone. The bags contain items such as tissues, lip balm, hand sanitizer, candy and snacks, along with handwritten messages of encouragement.
Community members will have an opportunity to assemble those kits during Swedesboro Day later this month.
Education is another part of Pink Clover’s mission. The organization hosts free public seminars about breast cancer, with topics ranging from detection and treatment to insurance and different forms of the disease. Medical professionals lead the presentations and answer questions from attendees.
Pink Clover also holds several fundraising and community events throughout the year.
The foundation will visit the University of New Haven Sept. 18 and 19, where supporters will meet with the research team, raise money for the breast-cancer research lab and honor four new Comfort Recipients with $2,500 grants.
In October, Pink Clover plans to participate in the annual Pink Game at Kingsway, where volunteers can assemble Comfort Kits and a local woman affected by breast cancer is traditionally recognized.
The organization’s largest gathering is its annual gala in November. This year’s event will take place at the DoubleTree in Cherry Hill, a larger venue selected as attendance has continued to grow. Sam expects the gala could draw more than 400 people, bringing together Comfort Recipients, volunteers and sponsors.
For the family behind Pink Clover, that growth is a continuation of the compassion Colleen first envisioned while sitting alongside other women undergoing cancer treatment.
Years after her death, the relationships created through that vision remain deeply personal.
“This is my life now,” Sam said of his work supporting people affected by cancer. “We develop relationships like you can’t imagine.”
