AcadianaCasts Presents:
AcadianaCasts Presents:
25 Years of Miles Perret Cancer Services with Sherry Hernandez & Tim Rinaldi
For 25 years, Miles Perret Cancer Services has been a lifeline for families across Acadiana facing the unthinkable. In this episode, Sherry Hernandez and Tim Rinaldi share how the organization grew from one family's loss into a trusted community resource — helping over 26,000 cancer patients with free support services that go far beyond medical care.
From wigs and medical supplies to transportation and nutrition assistance, Miles Perret fills the gaps that insurance often can’t. The conversation also looks ahead to their exciting expansion plans and the return of their beloved fundraiser, Games of Acadiana.
This episode is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when neighbors help neighbors — and why Miles Perret Cancer Services continues to be a cornerstone of hope in Acadiana.
AcadianaCasts Presents: Sherry Hernandez & Tim Rinaldi of Miles Perret Cancer Services!
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"AcadianaCasts Presents" is the Flagship Podcast of the ACADIANACASTS NETWORK. Lafayette, LA based host, Carter Simoneaux talks with entertainers, business owners, athletes, chefs, and more - anyone who can help tell the story of Acadiana.
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If you want to watch this episode on YouTube, check out our channel!
It's really just that they have a cancer diagnosis and that they either live in Acadiana or are being treated in Acadiana.
Speaker 2:And that's one of the most special things, I think, is that you know, obviously our scope of services is relatively large, but everything that we do, whether it's on the services side or program side of things, it's always 100% free of charge to the families that we serve, and we've only been able to do that thanks to the Acadiana community, and we've only been able to do that thanks to the Acadiana community.
Speaker 3:So all of the funding that we get for services comes right in from Acadiana and then goes right back out into those same communities. Glad to have you. I'm Carter Seminole, host of Acadiana Cast Presents. You can follow us all over social media. The website will be up and running soon. I've been saying that for the past few episodes, but hey, that's the price of admission when it comes to running a business, you never know what you're going to get. It's like a box of chocolate. Sometimes I'm quoting Forrest Gump. Let's get to the root of why we're here today. We're here with two representatives from Miles Perak Cancer Services, sherry Hernandez and Tim Rinaldi, and I met Sherry a few years ago when I was working for News 15, working with Miles Perak Cancer Services doing some stories games of Acadiana, and we're here talking about their 25th year of existence. They've been around helping people around the Acadiana area, serving over a 10 parish region, for 25 years, so we're going to introduce them here right now. Sherry and Tim, thanks so much for joining us today here on Acadiana Cast Presents.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us.
Speaker 3:Yes of course. So 25 years, that's wild, there's no question behind it, just 25 years. How long have you been involved? Eight years I've been with the organization for eight years.
Speaker 2:It's flown by so fast. We're so blessed to do what we do in Acadiana, so it really does. It makes 25 years, and eight years go by super fast.
Speaker 3:And Tim, how long have you been with the organization?
Speaker 1:Almost three years now and yet so incredibly thankful to be a part of this organization. Where are you from originally? So I was born in San Antonio, but actually my family was recruited to Lafayette when I was seven because my dad was an oncologist and lived in Acadiana for the most part ever since, but it feels like it's come full circle. I grew up hearing in New Iberia how my dad had saved their mother's or their aunt's lives when they were battling cancer, and now to be able to also work with cancer patients, it's an incredible blessing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a full circle kind of thing. So you think your dad, being in that line of work, an oncologist, kind of led you down that path.
Speaker 1:It did. I grew up with an appreciation for the work he was doing and just hearing from so many people who he had helped or even saved their lives, and so I know as much as possible, without going through it personally, how much an individual struggles with when they're facing cancer. And so that's what drew me to the opportunity to join Miles Peret, and realizing that there are so many people in our community who need so much.
Speaker 3:Yeah, now before we kind of get into Miles Peret Cancer Services and what you guys got kind of going on this year Sherry, I never asked you what's your background? Where do you come from?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm originally born and raised in Baton Rouge, louisiana. I moved to Lafayette to attend UL and met my husband my now husband my last semester of college and been here ever since. So actually, funny enough, I've been here for 25 years ironically also and never looked back. So I love this area and so blessed now to be a part of. You know the organization and, of course, you know one of the things we talk about at the office kind of one of the phrases that we share is you know, we're neighbors, helping neighbors, but we often, you know, have internal staff meetings and things like that and where we talk about what brought each other to the organization. And it just goes to show you that all of us know someone that's affected by cancer, especially our staff, and internally, and, um, it's really neat to see how many full circle moments that we have just internally but externally as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I love that you said um, the the neighbors helping each other like, uh, this where we're shooting.
Speaker 3:This is in the love of people office, a nonprofit here, and they're a sponsor of the show, a big supporter, and their slogan is helping others, help others you know putting on events and helping people who want to give back to a cause in the community but don't know how we kind of help them, guide them through that process. And so you know, helping others, help others. I feel like that's kind of a mantra that Miles Perrette services can kind of relate to as well.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, you know. Again, we all know someone that's been affected by cancer and you realize that we see that every day, you know, with the work that we do. So it's it's really neat to see all the full circle moments that we have, you know, within the community, but then within our organization as a whole as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you guys serve 4,000 people in Acadiana.
Speaker 2:That's right. So we, as you mentioned, we cover 10 parishes in Acadiana, so a lot, of, a lot of cancer survivors and families in those areas. The fortunate and unfortunate thing is that, you know, we're continuing to see the numbers rise. So last year alone we had over 4,000 families come through our doors and since we opened our doors it's been over 26,000 families that we've been able to help and provide cancer services for.
Speaker 3:Wow, and as you were kind of mentioned, as we were kind of setting up, there's kind of almost even though you guys have been around for 25 years, there's like there's a disconnect in this community about what you guys do. Would you like to address that Sure?
Speaker 2:Well, and I guess again, that's a good, a good and a bad thing. The fortunate and unfortunate thing is that a lot of families don't really realize the true scope of what we do until they themselves or a family member are unfortunately affected by cancer. So even though we've been in the community for 25 years, a lot of you know outside families still think that we treat cancer or that we do chemotherapy or radiation or things like that, and we like to say you know we do everything but that. So our main mission and goal is to really fill in the gaps with cancer care based on what those individual patient needs are yeah, and just to add to that, I mentioned joining about three years ago.
Speaker 1:I got a lot of comments from friends like oh, y'all do great work, Is it research? Is it you help just kids or the elderly? But really we don't do the research. We support Acadiana families who are battling cancer and sorry, I lost my train of thought and there are no qualifications. It's really just that they have a cancer diagnosis and that they either live in Acadiana or are being treated in Acadiana.
Speaker 2:And that's one of the most special things, I think, is that you know, obviously our scope of services is relatively large, but everything that we do, whether it's on the services side or program side of things, it's always 100% free of charge to the families that we serve, and we've only been able to do that thanks to the Acadiana community, so all of the funding that we get for services comes right in from Acadiana and then goes right back out into those same communities. I love it Homegrown, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm just kind of reading just a little document that you sent me. But all services are always provided at no charge and include things like medical supplies, wigs and head coverings, nutritional supplements, durable medical equipments, mastectomy supplies, transportation assistance and prescription assistance, just to name a few. There's I can't imagine the just the things that the door that opens that you, that families, have to now deal with when it comes to a cancer diagnosis.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Well, and that that's one of the hardest parts, you know is often when we think of a cancer diagnosis, you think of you know the doctor visits, the treatment and just the expense that's associated with that, but far too often we forget about all of the other things that are included with that, which are a lot of on that list that you named.
Speaker 2:Quality of life. Quality of life, you know individual patient needs other than treatment, and that often gets overlooked. And many times, you know, when a patient goes in and they're getting ready to start treatment, their doctor will hand them a list of all of these things that they need, and it can be everything from lotion or soft bristle toothbrushes or just you know little insignificant things like that. But at the end of the day, you know, based on the particular type of cancer and care that's needed for that, there's a lot of areas that go unfilled, and so that's our main focus is to fill in those gaps and really meet those patients where they're at in their journey and be able to facilitate those interstitial services. However, that looks for a patient and their family.
Speaker 3:Now I can't imagine. Obviously there's this, it's a nasty disease that can just take over and destroy your body in many different ways, but the mental toll that it weighs, I can't imagine just that. First meeting with a new patient when they come to you guys, what's kind of the average? I know everyone's different, everyone's a snowflake, an individual, everyone's different, of course. But what's kind of the average temperament or tone of some of these patients who are coming in?
Speaker 2:Well, I think the best part of what we do and the best part about that question is that we see patients all across the board in their journey. So sometimes it's the same day of diagnosis. We have patients that come through our doors, you know their doctor tells them, mentions miles per hour to them like go to them for services, and we see them within the hour of receiving a cancer diagnosis. Sometimes it's a little bit harder. Maybe they're not ready to wrap their head around, you know, facing a diagnosis so it may be months down the road. So we really see patients on all walks of life, all walks of their cancer journey and in all stages. So it really varies. But I think that's one of the best parts is that we're able to really meet those patients again where they're at in their journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and one thing if you visit Miles Perrette you'll see immediately is from the beginning they were very intentional with the layout and the furniture and the real feel of the environment. So when our clients walk in, they go into what we call the living room. There's a library where they can learn about different resources available, but they can just relax on a couch and our service coordinators. You know we don't require appointments, but our average wait time is less than two minutes. We want to be ready for them whenever they show up and then they go to our family room, which is again similar to this it's a couch and chairs so that they can try and feel more comfortable after going to so many different doctor's offices.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a nice change of pace from the colds, yeah.
Speaker 1:And we don't have clipboards.
Speaker 1:We were not looking behind a tablet screen.
Speaker 1:We want them to know that we are there solely for them, to listen and then to let them know of the many different ways that we can help them.
Speaker 1:Sherry's walked through a few of those ways, but we've been around for 25 years, learning firsthand exactly what cancer patients need in many different ways, and from the beginning we've had very close relationships with the local oncologists and other healthcare providers, so we get firsthand accounts of maybe new medicines available or other services and programs. For instance, our nutritional supplements have been the most requested service from the beginning, because so many cancer patients need supplements to consume enough calories to maintain their treatment, but oftentimes it's not covered by insurance and they're incredibly expensive. If you go to Walmart and look at a case of supplements, many of our clients can't afford that. So we do services like that that we know are incredibly needed. But we're also very intentional about what other organizations are doing, so we don't want to duplicate efforts, and that's what makes us so confident that when someone chooses to contribute to our mission, we know that their money is going to someone who very much needs it and it's not being wasted, which we're proud of which we're proud of.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm sure that makes people feel good whenever they're donating hard-earned money to causes, to know exactly where it's going. Especially it's going in our home region. Talk to me briefly about, I know, the medical industry in Acadia is one of the larger ones, with oil and gas, of course, tech, because I'm blessed that I haven't had to deal with this but how is our industry when it comes to the medical field, with treating cancer here in Acadiana?
Speaker 2:We are actually very lucky as a community. The oncology community and cancer community in Acadiana is incredible. Over the years, for many years, we've had the privilege to have some amazing doctors come to this area and still to this day. So you know, as a whole the Canadian community is really blessed with. You know, the oncology services that we have to offer and you know obviously there's still a lot of patients that will go to places like MD Anderson or even you know, texas Children or things like that, you know, for specialty services. But for the most part, you know the majority of our patients are treated locally and by some amazing oncologists that you know we've been able to bring to this area.
Speaker 1:And we have such a great relationship with the different hospitals. Our clients the vast majority of them are referred to us by their oncologists and their nurses, which is so great for us that we are getting their info and we can immediately reach out and let them know how we can help them. And we've met with many of these oncologists recently and they want to help their patients however they can, and in many cases that means connecting them to Miles Perrette, and we've got such good people here. Hank Perrette and I yesterday actually met with the CEO of Lafayette General and his first question was how can they better support us in our effort to help cancer patients in Acadiana? You know I mentioned living most of my life here in Acadiana.
Speaker 1:My wife and I moved to Boston from 2016 to 2018. But when we came back, we wanted to really settle down for good, as we were raising our family, and when I joined Miles Perrette, that's when I realized how incredibly blessed we are to be here. Like one of my favorite parts of my role is meeting many people like yourself who just want to help in any way they can. That doesn't mean, you know, someone is offering to write a hundred thousand dollar check every day, but they want to give their time and they legitimately want to help however they can, and I think that's what we have here that's so special however they can, and I think that's what we have here that's so special and we hear we hear that a lot, you know, especially like when we have um.
Speaker 2:A lot of times we'll have outside organizations from other States or other cities come in to kind of just even see what we do as an organization and how we, how our workflow is, and that's kind of the general feedback that we get that people, just the people that come into the Acadiana area that aren't familiar with how you know we operate as a community, are just so blown away by the support we get on all aspects, whether it's, you know, volunteer, you know volunteer time, you know support through donations are just just the way that this community supports each other. I mean, everyone's always so blown away by that.
Speaker 3:Yeah Now, by the way, if you do want to write $100,000, they will say yes.
Speaker 2:And, like you said, it does all stay local. So you know, you mentioned we cover a 10 parish area. But that's one of the really special things about our organization is we say it stays local but it really does. All of the funding comes into the organization and goes right back out into those same 10 parishes to help patients in those areas. So it's not, you know, going up north or to another state, it really is all staying in our 10 parishes.
Speaker 3:Okay, let's do a quick little segue. I'm going to put you to the test. Oh goodness, I need you to name all 10 parishes, and then y'all can do a teamwork exercise here.
Speaker 2:It doesn't have to just be one person. So Acadia Evangeline Jeff Davis, st Mary, st Landry.
Speaker 1:Lafayette, Iberia, Vermilion. Did we get St Martin?
Speaker 2:We didn't get St Martin. Okay, what are we missing? We're missing one.
Speaker 3:St Mary.
Speaker 2:You say Avoyles. Avoyles, avoyles, there we go, got it Ding ding ding.
Speaker 3:Now there are people who argue that Avoyles is not Acadiana, but also if ever go to a Volus parish, it's it's Kunis central. So now how often do you get to chat with the with the Perrette family?
Speaker 2:Well, and that that's one of my most favorite things about Miles Perrette. You know Carter you and I talked a little bit about. You know the legacy of Miles Perrette, who, which, I mean, many people may not even realize was a real person 25 years ago.
Speaker 2:Right, and that's you know. That's everything that we do is based on Miles's legacy, and so that's one of my favorite stories to share. You know, miles was diagnosed when he was around eight years old and, you know, unfortunately passed away from his cancer diagnosis, but during his journey he was one of five boys at home. So Hank and Debbie Perrette had five sons that were all relatively close in age and, you know, still needed to live a normal life and normal family, and so their journey with Miles really taught them firsthand experience of, you know, not only what you know a pediatric patient goes through, but what the family goes through as well. And so after Miles passed away, you know they realized that there was a real void in the community for an organization that you know. They realized that there was a real void in the community for an organization that you know really rallies around families and offers families those same types of services that you know that they saw from the community.
Speaker 2:And so that's kind of how, you know, miles Perrette came about, and to this day the Perrettes are at our office no less than once a week. They're hands-on with everything that we do. So still truly invested as a family and as an organization and I think that just makes that local aspect of things that much more. And, as Tim mentioned a little while ago, you know we say, like the services that we choose, you know, we, we know firsthand, based on on, you know, our feedback of what those services should be. But it's not just coming from the oncology community, it's coming from families that have had that personal experience as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's one thing to you know create this organization based out of tragedy within your own family, your child, but to still be active 25 years later. It's got to be inspiring for other people Like well, if they're doing it. Then I got to help a little bit.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Well, and that's a true testament to the Perrette family too. I mean, they, they still do so much to give back, not just to our organization but to Acadiana and other organizations as a whole. I mean anything they can do for this community. They're always, you know, first ones in line, first one signed up. So I think, um, it's really been a privilege to know them and work for them, but they've really brought it full circle for sure, yeah, and for me my wife and I actually now have five sons, and I often think about your poor wife.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if it, if that sort of tragedy happened to us, I honestly think we would have to move away Like I would want to just try and start fresh, to move from that such a tragedy. But they didn't they. They were so committed to Acadiana and wanted to help other families that maybe didn't have as big of a support network as they had, and actually when they started the organization they didn't want to name it Miles Perrette. They wanted to name it something more generic, but the marketing advisors or consultants told them you really got to use the name and and honor legacy, and we've done that ever since and it's yeah, it's just such an incredible blessing. We see his portrait every day in the office and know that that we are helping to carry on his legacy, and I'm confident he still plays a very active role in our mission.
Speaker 2:So absolutely Well and you know, and I know we'll probably talk more later about some of our events and stuff, but anytime we're brainstorming or having discussions, you know, especially with Debbie Perrette at the office Miles is always in, you know, the back of our mind, and she always mentions when we're talking about a particular event or whatnot. You know like that he would be the first one in line or that you know that he would be the first one to do this. So even going as deep as some of the events that we have, you know we're still keeping him in the back of our mind when we're planning things for the community as well.
Speaker 3:So and this isn't the first time I've heard you tell the story of Miles Perrette, and you know, knowing you for a few years now, but every time you do you tell it with so much empathy and love. My question for you, sherry, is how are you able to relate so much to a child pass away that you didn't even know?
Speaker 2:Right. Well, and I think that definitely goes back to the Peretz. I mean they, you know, when you meet them you just want to give them a hug. You know it's not like meeting this. You know family that's untouchable. I mean they're just, they just exude love and community and so I really think it starts with them and then it trickles down through our organization, through myself and then back out into the community. But Miles' spirit, like as Tim mentioned, you know it's strong and it still lives on. And you know I never had the opportunity to meet him, but I mean even just walking the halls in our office and having staff meetings, and his spirit is strong and still lives on and it makes it easy, it makes it really easy to continue to share his legacy and the work that we do to support other families that are going through that same diagnosis.
Speaker 3:Well, I definitely want to talk about some of these events, but first this might be a little bit too inside baseball, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Tim, as executive director, from an operations standpoint, are you looking at other organizations like this in other states and what they're doing in order to try and bring that back here?
Speaker 1:So, yes, great question. And that was when I committed to joining. I had, about a month before my first day, and that was my mentality there's got to be other organizations doing this work. What can we learn from them? And I was actually blown away by how hard it was to find similar organizations. Yeah, there's a handful and I've learned of a few more since joining.
Speaker 1:But you would think the major cities all would have their version of Miles Peret, and even though I used to be in software sales so I was very good at Googling and finding what I needed to find I had trouble finding similar organizations. And to Sherry's point, I think it's because our community here is so unique. We've had people visit from major cities who want to see games of Acadiana to see if they could do it themselves, and they were blown away and immediately came to the conclusion that they couldn't, that we have such a strong volunteer base, such a great relationship with the hospitals that you can't just make that happen anywhere you want to. It took many, many years to get to where we are now, but that's also why we're so excited about what the future holds and what we can continue to build and expand for Acadiana yeah, it just didn't click to me and I just kind of like the theme that we're almost talking about, where people, not there's a disconnect in information.
Speaker 3:but it didn't click to me until kind of reading and talking to you guys, but about like the how insurance doesn't cover. You know vitamins and things like that. You know things that, like, we take for granted every single day, but like someone with cancer who is deficient, most likely in certain areas, needs these things but they're expensive. Go, like you said, to a GNC or Walmart or whatever, and so that's fascinating to find out that Miles Perette is pretty unique in that across the country.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, and it's interesting too because, like some of the things, like some of the services that we offer like make sense. You know, medical supplies or, as Tim mentioned, nutritional supplements or things like that. But it also goes so much deeper than that. You know, we offer a ton of wound care supplies and that stuff that people don't even think about. You know, whether it's band-aids or bandages or tracheotomy supplies. I mean you could go way down the rabbit hole with it, but there's so many things that are super important, you know, to certain patient care and we're able to help facilitate all of that at no charge.
Speaker 3:So but let's talk about Games of Acadiana. You know I was introduced to this when I was working for News 15. It was one of my favorite stories I got to do because I was like a kid in a candy store. I was there right before you guys kind of opened to the public and so I'm just going around just playing all the games by myself, getting it on camera, just having a good time when I should be, you know, working.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:But I ended up making a nice piece out of it. It.
Speaker 2:But it went away during the pandemic. But I believe it's coming back. Tell me all about it, that's right. So, oddly enough, and a lot of people may not know this, but we had the first Games of Acadiana before we ever opened our doors. So I'm sure people have heard us say that Games is our signature fundraiser. But the meaning or the reason behind that is because it was the catalyst that allowed us to open the doors to our organization. So we had the first games in 2001.
Speaker 2:You know, when the Perrettes had the idea that they wanted to open Miles Perrette, you know they knew obviously it was going to take funding and what that looked like. And kind of going back to that family aspect, they set all of their sons down and said you know, we want to open this organization, we obviously need to have a fundraiser. Like, what do you guys think we should do? And they were young. They were young, young boys, you know, elementary age, and so of course, naturally they were all athletes and in sports and that sort of thing, and so the brothers wanted to have some kind of some kind of competition, whatever that looked like, you know. And then the family aspect came and then you put all that together and that's what we now know as Games of Acadiana. So it was started, you know, by a family and of course it's grown to have thousands of participants now and it looks a little different. But that first Games was so successful that it allowed us to open our doors shortly after, and so it's become our signature fundraiser. It's the largest fundraiser that we have for Miles Perrette, but so celebrating 25 years of Miles Perrette goes hand in hand with celebrating 25 years of Games of Acadiana also. So this year we're having our 25th Games of Acadiana.
Speaker 2:As you mentioned, covid kind of changed things a little bit. You know, it used to be a huge family fun day at the Cajun Dome and Convention Center and then in 2020, you know, it was kind of dropped at our lap that we're not going to be able to do that this year, and so, you know, our team got together, brainstormed, tried to figure out, you know, what we can do, and that year was our 20th anniversary, and so we said, okay, we'll change it to a virtual scavenger hunt. It'll still be a competition and fun and family fun. So we did 20 years of games, 20 days of fun that year, and that year it was a 20 day virtual scavenger hunt, and so it's kind of developed over the years.
Speaker 2:We're still doing the virtual scavenger hunt, but this year, in celebration of our 25th year, we're bringing back game day. We're calling it our birthday bash. This year it's going to be on a smaller scale, not at the Cajun Dome, but we're having life-size games again, a lot of the traditional games that we had in Games of Acadiana, and so it should be, you know, an awesome celebration. This year.
Speaker 3:That is awesome it is. Today is March 26th and I'm just now realizing that it's been five years, since 2020.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Crazy, crazy enough, it flies. It flies when you're having fun. And this year's game. So games will be a two week scavenger hunt again this year, but that special birthday bash is going to be Saturday, may 31st, so we'll have lots of information coming out about that. But it's a real fun and exciting way for us to you know, get back to that traditional games and then, in celebration of 25 years, Okay, give me an example of something that would be on the scavenger hunt.
Speaker 2:Oh goodness, so it changes every year. That's the fun part, but also the hard part. Oh, it should yeah, yeah, so we have. This year it's over 70 missions and activities that we have available, and every year of the scavenger hunt, it's all brand-new missions and it's never less than 50. So our team, you know, we put our heads together and come up with some fun stuff, but it's everything from, you know, finding a license plate with certain numbers or finding two cars parked next to each other that are the same color.
Speaker 3:So it's typical scavenger hunt, things like that Find a Jeep with a duck on it Right.
Speaker 2:So things like that.
Speaker 3:Find one of those cult members.
Speaker 2:All kinds of stuff. And then we also have some activity-based missions, as we call them, too, so we'll give you a task that says almost like performance-based missions, I guess, if you will, you know, show us your best hula dance or things like that. So it's a good mix of things. And then for completing each mission you get points, so they're all valued at different points values, and then every 10,000 points gets you into our prize drawing.
Speaker 3:Wow, how do you prove that you successfully completed a mission?
Speaker 2:So that's the coolest part. So Games of Acadiana, it's a virtual scavenger hunt. So it's all done through an app. It's an app called Goose Chase. So you download the free app. You would search this year's Games of Acadiana and then, once it goes live, all the missions are listed there for you, and so you just click on each one on your phone. It tells you what to do and it's either a video or photo evidence that you upload directly through the app.
Speaker 3:Now are people paying for the app.
Speaker 2:They do not, so that's really neat. So one of the things that's really important to the Peretz, and has been since the beginning, is that Games of Acadiana was free to the community. So it's our way to give back, to say thank you for supporting us, and we've been lucky enough to raise all of the funding ahead of time through our corporate supporters, and so till this day it's still a free event for the public. So there's no charge to play the scavenger hunt, to participate. And then we're giving away over 50 prizes, all valued at at least $50. And then everyone goes back in for a chance at a grand prize of $10,000.
Speaker 3:Whoa.
Speaker 2:So I know that's a lot of information to throw at you, but it's become a really really neat new take on what we think of as traditional games.
Speaker 3:Wow, oh man, that's so mean of you guys. You know helping out people with cancer and then give someone $10,000 and you're like you want to give it back.
Speaker 2:That's been really neat as well. We raise all of the money for the organization ahead of time, and even that donation is not directly coming from the organization. We have corporate sponsors that support us through all of our gifts. All of our gift cards are donated through local restaurants and businesses, movie theaters, that sort of thing, and then same for our cash prizes. So all of that funding is donated through corporate sponsorships.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so from a sponsor perspective, where is their visibility? Is it in the app?
Speaker 2:It's everywhere. So, depending on the level that they're at, I mean it's everything from pre-event advertising, billboards, newspapers, magazines, television commercials all of the traditional marketing avenues and then, of course, in the game, each sponsor is assigned to a mission, so they'll have their logo appear in the game. We do posters around Acadiana all different types of advertising. So, based on what level they choose, there's a variety of perks available, but we really saturate the area with highlighting our sponsors in any way that we can.
Speaker 1:Another reason we're excited about the in-person event with the birthday bash is that's another opportunity for in-person exposure for our sponsors. And then, with the larger sponsors, we get to get really creative with them and come up with missions that that resonate with their brand. Um mclaugh is one that I think of because they've been an awesome supporter of games for many years. Um, they're the mcdonald's franchise, and so we get creative with their team to come up with different missions that reinforce what they're doing in acadiana yeah, no, make laugh.
Speaker 3:Uh, really good for our community. Uh, we're, we're friends with them as well. But I got a question for you. If Acadia and Cast were to sponsor games next year, do I help choose the mission of which?
Speaker 2:So it depends on what level sponsorship that you're at.
Speaker 3:I'm already telling the questions.
Speaker 2:now I'm ready to go and we're always welcome to feedback. Like you know, we have really great relationships with all of our sponsors, so we're always willing. Like you know, we we're really we have really great relationships with all of our sponsors, so we we're always willing, like a lot of them, have great suggestions. Sometimes they're way over the top, but usually if it's something that we can like make work and make it fun, then we'll try to facilitate that and um and let them, you know, help us choose what we're doing as a, as a mission.
Speaker 3:I would do something just like to prank one of my friends, or something like go find Gerald Grunig and just scream let's go out.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, there you go there you go.
Speaker 3:You guys can just go do that without the.
Speaker 2:I'm sure he would love that.
Speaker 3:I'm sure man okay, so when is this going on?
Speaker 2:So the virtual scavenger hunt kicks off on a Friday, so it's May 30th through June 14th. So you have two weeks to complete the missions and they can be completed at any time during that two weeks. So you could do them all on the first day. You could do a couple each day, wait till the end.
Speaker 3:Are there like an order, or you can choose, you can choose.
Speaker 2:You can scroll through the list and you can choose at your will.
Speaker 2:Um, some are a lot easier because you can just go in your backyard and, you know, find an interesting bug and take a picture of it and then sometimes, you know, you do have to maybe go down the street or, you know, get in your vehicle or that sort of thing, and then the birthday bash the kickoff is that very next day, so it's Saturday, may 31st we're going to bring back our survivor walk.
Speaker 2:So one of the things that was really special about Games of Acadiana at the Cajun Dome is that we always had an opening ceremonies which featured a survivor walk, and that was kind of the kickoff to the day, and then, after that ceremony was over, all of the games opened and gameplay started. And so this year we're bringing that back again and so we're going to have a survivor walk where we're honoring all of our local cancer survivors, opening ceremonies and then, once that's over, all of the games will be open for free play, and so we're bringing back a bunch of our life-size inflatables again. I mean again some of our historical games that people know of, like our one-minute games and different things like that. So it should be a really awesome day to get back to that traditional game day, but just on a new level, a different level this year.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's fascinating to kind of see it all evolve.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's. It's fascinating to kind of see it all evolve. Yeah, and you know I mentioned having five sons. I I'm very experienced in going to parties with fun jumps, um, but we will have fun jumps that most families have never seen before, um, so it should be a really awesome day from 10 AM to 2 PM for the community.
Speaker 1:Um, but we talk about the virtual event being two weeks and I think there are some people busy families who see that and think like, well, I can't commit two weeks. But one thing once they participate they realize it might be a rainy Saturday afternoon and if you want to spend an hour in your living room, you can knock out a bunch of missions and pass the day. So that's one thing we're really trying to push this year to get more families involved, because it is right at the beginning of summer, oftentimes before summer camp or vacation, and many of the missions can be completed from home. It's not necessarily loading the kids in the car seats and driving all around town, and we get overwhelmingly feedback from families that it's such a great bonding opportunity and I personally can't participate because of the conflict, but my parents play with my sons and they have a blast and they're super competitive, and whether people are looking for just a little bit of fun or to get really competitive, it's a great event what type of family they are, how much time they have.
Speaker 2:I mean, every 10,000 points gets you an entry into the prize drawing, so you could do just enough to get one entry. You could do all of the missions. If you run out of time, that's okay too. And then the app is free and to play is free. So there's no real commitment other than you know just downloading a free app and, you know, taking a chance to win some cool prizes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, go play with your kids.
Speaker 2:People come on, have a good time well, and for us we, you know we kept it during the summertime to to stick with the traditional, you know, games games was always in August, so traditionally it was always the first weekend after school started, and that was a very strategic, you know where we were. Like your kids go to school for a couple of days and then they're crazy because it's the first week of school and so we would say, bring them to the Cajun Dome, let us tire them out, and after their first week of school, and so we wanted to kind of stick to that. So now the scavenger hunt starts like the first, basically the first week of summer. So since it's a little bit of a different format, you know they just got out of school everyone's looking for something to do before summer vacation and summer camps and that sort of thing. So we're like summer starts, you know, and then you can hit the road, having a good time with your family and bonding and earning some neat stuff.
Speaker 3:I feel like there's a lot. There's a lot of like market research that goes into these, these kinds of type of decisions. Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Our team. Our team is very instrumental in you know all of the aspects, but we get we get a lot of feedback from the community, of course, from our board of directors, and then just based on history. You know we we're very good about, you know, keeping feedback and notes from previous years. So anytime we're, you know, changing things or coming up with a new concept, we really try to be conscious of that and what the community, you know, really wants to see.
Speaker 1:How large is your staff? So we have 16 people on staff. Our volunteers we have. I want to say it was around 400. Over the course of last year we actually just had a party for some of the volunteers who do the most and it was thousands of hours from just that group of around 30 volunteers. So our staff is incredible. Our volunteers are incredible. We've got a large board of directors who have been involved, many of whom from the beginning. Um it, it really is a an awesome operation that we have going and it takes a village for sure.
Speaker 2:You know. And one of the neat things about the volunteer party that we have every year, we're able to go into our system and see how many hours that volunteers accumulated, you know, each year. And you know, in previous years when we had game uh, games of acadiana, in person we utilized over 1,200 volunteers annually. So that's not even including the hours, that's just manpower, people. And then, you know, in running the reports, for just curious, just to see, you know, how many volunteer hours we had over the last year it was thousands of hours that were put in for, you know, just people volunteering their time and all different aspects, um, just to support our organization. So it's pretty, pretty special to see that.
Speaker 3:What makes an organization like this so successful?
Speaker 2:The people, I mean for sure the people. I think it starts there. I mean, again going back to the Perrette family, um, as Tim mentioned. You know, um, it's very hard to duplicate. You know authenticity and community and love, and so I think it starts with the people and then it just trickles down from there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think when we recruit new members to our staff, we are very focused on who fits our culture and our mission. And then you know I mentioned previously that the relationships we have in the community, especially with the hospitals and then our longstanding supporters and sponsors. It's there are so many people involved in our mission and I think many of them don't realize how great of an impact they have. But we've got so many people involved that it's why we've been able to do as much as we've done in 25 years. But also, as we look to the future, we anticipate growing our impact significantly in the short term as we move to a new location and can really expand what we do, especially as it relates to our wellness center for our survivors.
Speaker 3:I imagine to work there you have to have an inherent want or need to help people, but unfortunately, I imagine you also got to deal with loss at times.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, and that that can be really difficult, but one of one of the special things is, no matter what side of our staff you're on, I mean, we have obviously our patient facing staff that work hand in hand with them, and then, you know, we kind of have our behind the scenes staff. But one of the things that I found really interesting over the years, no matter which side of the team that you're on, we've all been able to develop relationships with the clients and patients and families that come through our doors very organically, which is really interesting. But I think that's been instrumental in our success also, that it's not like our clients are just coming to another doctor's appointment, and our volunteers too whether it's clients, volunteers, anyone that comes through our doors our team just organically gets super close to them and it's really a special relationship we have across the board, have you?
Speaker 3:guys learned anything about humanity when it comes to working and dealing with someone who has been given a devastating cancer diagnosis?
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. I mean, you know again, we all know someone that's that's been diagnosed with cancer and um, you know it's a very hard thing to deal with, no matter which side you're on. But when you, when you see it every day and you're working in it every day, it just gives you a whole new perspective on life as a whole and which you would imagine that it would. When you're in in it every day, it just really um gives you a whole new perspective on, on everything on life, on um family decisions, um, when you feel like you're having a bad day, it puts everything else into perspective yeah, I would add to that just the power of hope.
Speaker 1:Um, we, our services, are offered on the second floor at our building. Um, and many people come straight from their first diagnosis and they could be devastated, probably in shock. In shock, yes. And when they meet with our staff and realize, you know, just as something as simple as a port pillow, they have ports where their seatbelt goes, and if you don't have something covering that, you put the seatbelt on. That's going to hurt. And so we can say, like you know, you really should take this home with you, something as simple as that. They realize it's not just that little port pillow, it's that they have an organization behind them who wants to help and knows how to help.
Speaker 1:And we get a lot of feedback from our clients and while they appreciate the specific services and programs, it's really the new outlook they have. In particular, we have a wig room and that's when our clients go. They're, in many cases, struggling with their identity. They look in the mirror and they don't recognize who they see. And, in particular, we had one client who was really struggling because her daughter was about to get married and she didn't know how she could joyfully celebrate her daughter's marriage or wedding without her hair, but when she found the right wig she actually FaceTimed with her daughter, the way her daughter had FaceTime when she found her wedding dress, because she realized it was going to be a joyful celebration. And I think that's just a small taste of what we do each and every day, and actually I came with a recent testimonial that I thought really spoke powerfully for what we do.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, let's hear it.
Speaker 1:So our client recently explained I have always been on my own raising three children and providing for them and myself. During my life I've tried to be there to help others and never ask for help for myself. It has been so hard for me to accept that now I need help. The Miles Perrette organization and people are so understanding of how we feel. I felt so guilty accepting free items from them, but they made me feel more comfortable accepting the help. We not only suffer physically from this terrible disease, but mentally struggle with the realities of our changing situation.
Speaker 1:Miles Perrette is very successful in accomplishing their mission and Sherry and I have used the term survivor and that actually people often don't understand.
Speaker 1:Survivor doesn't mean they completed their treatment and they rung the bell. It means they were diagnosed. So someone is a cancer survivor from the moment of diagnosis and I think that's one thing that we do for the community is help them to realize that they are survivors, that they have a team behind them, that they are, that we're there for them in their cancer battle and with so many awesome organizations around the country committing to research, many people are living longer with cancer, which is great, but it actually makes Miles Pratt even more critical. People are living for decades, and that's why our wellness center is exploding that we can't even fit everyone in some of our exercise classes, because we've got such a strong community of cancer survivors who want to unite with each other, whether it's a line dancing class or a breast cancer support group or a prostate cancer support group, and that's why we're so excited to move to our new location by the end of this year to really have much more space and to provide a teaching kitchen and so much more for our clients.
Speaker 2:Well, and speaking of, that's probably kind of a hidden secret or kind of a little bomb that we may have dropped. So I guess we're excited to share officially, officially. So we will be moving into a new location. As Tim said, it's in the works and so, again, just going back to the community support, we've been so grateful, One of the things that was really important to us, which was obviously not to use patient funding for a new location, and we've been talking about moving for years and expanding, and now that the you know, obviously our you know, we're seeing many more patients and so we're excited to share that.
Speaker 2:As Tim mentioned, hopefully at the end of this year we should be moving to a new location which is much larger, so actually right down the street, not far. So now our office is located on Colley Saloom in the center of Lafayette, kind of close to River Ranch. So we're basically just moving down Colley Saloom, kind of close to St Pius, other side of the road, but there's an industrial complex so we'll be back in there. So five minutes down the road but triple the size building that we have now close to. So it's going to expand our resources immensely. Obviously, our wellness center is a huge service that we offer. So that's going to be able to expand and with that we're going to be able to have a teaching kitchen. So obviously nutrition is super important when it comes to a diagnosis and we do a lot of support with wellness and nutrition now. But that's going to allow us to expand tenfold and offer so many more amazing services um to that local population man, that's awesome, congratulations we're excited, we're counting down the days, but we'll see man, hey, breaking news on a katie
Speaker 3:right, there you go that she'll probably get two weeks later that's right, you heard it here first two weeks from now, maybe next week. I'm not sure whether I'll have time before my trip to edit this for next week or the following week. Oh yeah, well, that's neither here nor there.
Speaker 2:We haven't officially announced it anywhere yet.
Speaker 3:So we'll keep it under wraps.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you get.
Speaker 3:So getting close to wrapping up, we got games coming up at the end of May, at the end of the school year. What else do we have coming down the pipe? A new building.
Speaker 2:New building.
Speaker 3:A new building, I'm hoping by the end of the year. What else is coming for this 25th anniversary?
Speaker 2:So we have our annual triathlon. This year it's going to be in August, so we'll have information coming about that. That's always a fan favorite. It's always the night before Thanksgiving, so it'll be that again this year. We have a lot of new things in store for that. So a lot of cool new glow gear, glow attractions, digital light boards. So with our 20th anniversary, it's bringing about a lot of revamping for all of our events, and they're going to be bigger and better than ever.
Speaker 3:And what would be your message to someone who maybe was a supporter, maybe was going to games when they had like young kids and then, whether because of the pandemic, or their kids got kind of older, they've kind of gotten away and maybe they're seeing this with the hearing about Miles for the first time in a while. What would be your kind of message to them?
Speaker 1:I would say we'd love for them to get involved, and that can be many different ways. It might mean participating in games of Acadiana, whether they come to the Bayou Church or in the virtual component of the event. Camellia Crossing is an awesome event for our community. We're always looking for volunteers. There's other ways to give back. We do Change for Miles. That's our school fundraiser, where children can learn the power of philanthropy by collecting coins, and it might not seem like much for one student to go home and fill a 16 ounce bottle with a little bit of change, but combined we've raised almost $100,000 a year from that program. So I think that's another awesome way for kids to get involved and if they want to support our mission financially, by all means, we'd love to have them do so as well.
Speaker 2:Well, and just piggybacking off of that, there's so many different ways to get involved and, like you said, it doesn't have to be a financial contribution. I mean it can be through volunteering, it can be through having, you know, your own smaller version of a fundraiser, a car wash, a bake sale. There's lots of different ways. So I would just invite them. And obviously, you know, as businesses change hands and you know, different people come and go with different organizations, obviously you know they may be a supporter for a few years and then, you know, move on to something else. But I would just invite the community to just, you know, visit with us, check out our website or even just come in for a cup of coffee and just kind of see all the great things that we're doing and how much we've expanded ways to really support the organization, way more than probably what people realize.
Speaker 3:I'm always amazed by the generosity of people in South Louisiana, whether it's after a devastating hurricane or helping people who are battling cancer. Have you seen that as well, especially like you who left Louisiana for a little bit and came back, that just this generosity that seems to kind of just flow through our veins here?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and that's again why I'm so thankful to be here and to raise my sons here. We have such a strong community that rallies around each other. I like to say you know, we take care of our own here. That rallies around each other. I like to say you know, we take care of our own here. Our community rallies around those in need, whether it's, you know, an emergent crisis or an ongoing crisis like cancer. It's been incredible to witness how many people want to help, however they can.
Speaker 3:And we're going to kind of wrap up here. But before we do that, you know I'm not a perfect interviewer, so I'll let you guys do my job for me. Is there anything that we didn't touch on that you think need to be said today?
Speaker 1:I would just reiterate you know our community and Miles Perrette is here to support Acadiana families. That was one thing from the beginning. The Perrette is here to support Acadiana families. That was one thing from the beginning. The Perrette family and some of the money that was raised used to go to other organizations, but when they realized that money wasn't staying in Acadiana and how many people needed help in Acadiana, they realized that's why we need Miles Perrette Cancer Services. So I just really want to stress that we are able to help so many people locally who need it and the one.
Speaker 1:The other thing I've learned in my role is just the power of a small monthly donation. Um, many families contribute once a month to Netflix or other things like that, and I don't think they realize that that a similar amount of money to a local nonprofit goes a really long way. Local business owners will tell you they want to see recurring revenue so they can plan for the future. Nonprofits are the same and we have $5 a month donors that mean so much to us and I would encourage people who listen to this or watch this to think about what local missions matter to them and if there's a small way they can support an ongoing basis Because I know for me and my wife, when we choose to support a local nonprofit on a monthly basis, it becomes a part of our identity. You know we care about Miles Perrette, or there's a few others we support as well, and that becomes a part of our identity. And the more people do that in our community, the greater impact we'll enable the local nonprofits to have for our community.
Speaker 3:Beautifully said. So before we finish here, kind of real quick, Sherry, give us a plot. Where can people get involved?
Speaker 2:The easiest way would be to visit our website. It's milesperetteorg, so very simple. Or, of course, they can call us anytime. If they're a patient, they can talk to one of our service coordinators. Or if they're a business or supporter and just want to get involved, they can talk to one of our team members and we'll be happy to point them in the right direction. And then, of course, anytime, we post everything on our social media pages. We're super active in the community, externally and internally, so all of our updates are always listed there.
Speaker 3:Facebook.
Speaker 2:Instagram, absolutely, yeah, I've got a good creative team too. I was watching some of the videos that you sent me. Thanks, yeah, we're very, we're very lucky with that. So we've we've done really well with you know, trying to it's, it's a lot of information to condense down into, you know, small pamphlets or, you know, videos or social media.
Speaker 3:That's why I have hour long conversations, that's right.
Speaker 2:That's right. It's a lot, and I mean, obviously we're passionate about what we do, so we can easily go down the rabbit hole on any subject, but we've been really lucky with that.
Speaker 3:So Well, let's just close with a little bit of a Louisiana roundup, some rapid fire questions for you guys, kind of theme of the show. We ask most of our guests some of these, these same questions. I'm nervous now, yeah, not getting out, get y'all out of y'all's questions.
Speaker 2:Right, right right.
Speaker 3:Do you? And well, I'll ask to both of you and we'll just start with you answering first and then you answer next. Do you dust your crawfish?
Speaker 2:Not personally, but I will eat them if they are dusted somewhere else.
Speaker 3:Okay, tim.
Speaker 1:No, I am not the best person to ask, though the last crawfish I had was at a Chinese buffet last night.
Speaker 2:Oh no, we need to cut that out.
Speaker 3:I will say some of the Chinese buffets are getting pretty good at it. You live here long enough.
Speaker 1:My sons were in heaven looking at all the options.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm sure Do you put potato salad in your gumbo.
Speaker 2:No no.
Speaker 3:No, okay. Well, you're a Baton Rouge girl.
Speaker 2:Yes, I love potato salad, but I like my food separate.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what is your least favorite street to drive on in Lafayette?
Speaker 2:Pinhook easily hands down. That's becoming a theme.
Speaker 1:The intersection of Pinhook and Kali Salim yeah right.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah Horrible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Horrible.
Speaker 2:What is your, what's your favorite festival in?
Speaker 1:Acadiana Festival International for sure.
Speaker 3:Festival International. Yeah, it seems to be everyone's goat. If you are trying to get to Baton Rouge on a Friday, what time do you have to leave without hitting traffic?
Speaker 2:You want my honest answer or my PC. Answer my honest answer is it doesn't matter when you leave. It's always taken me three hours.
Speaker 3:I once sat in between Me and my fraternity brothers in college were on our way to Starksville for a conference and we sat in between Lafayette and Baton Rouge for eight hours.
Speaker 2:And it never failed. And I make a lot of trips back eight hours and it never failed. And I make a lot of back and forth and it never fails. Like from my family's driveway to my driveway is an hour and 15 minutes and it I've never made it in less than two hours and usually it's closer to three.
Speaker 1:I once got stuck in traffic in Baton Rouge at 4am because we drove through the night on the way home from vacation and even at that hour I had to slow down and I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 2:God, and even at that hour I had to slow down and I couldn't believe it. God, 4 am, yeah, yeah, so middle of the day is probably the best time. I mean, I think a lot of times people try to leave early in the morning and you're not getting anywhere on the bridge, and then if it's in the afternoon you're not getting anywhere on the bridge.
Speaker 3:So I would say maybe midday, okay, mid-afternoon, yeah, two o'clock yeah, if I leave after two, it's for sure going to be an issue, absolutely. What is a? I know we get so caught up in our lives living in Lafayette and all the things that we do with work and families and whatnot, but is there a town, a smaller town in Acadiana, that you consider like a best-kept secret or your little undercover gem?
Speaker 2:So I will say, recently I've been very drawn to Abbeville.
Speaker 3:Abbeville.
Speaker 2:There's so many little hidden gems there from restaurants and coffee shops and little stores, so it's become a little sweet spot. For me, that's kind of a hidden secret, I think.
Speaker 1:I'll say St Martinville. I lived there in high school, not in the downtown area, but I love whenever I make it back to the downtown area.
Speaker 2:It's so pretty there, it is so pretty.
Speaker 3:Ken, either of you two-step.
Speaker 2:Yes, so a little fun fact, I was actually in a Cajun dance troupe when I was younger, so called Le Joie de Vie. So I am, if you want to call that, professionally trained in Cajun dance I would say so yeah, more than me yeah.
Speaker 3:So, yes, my answer is no. Yeah, I had a feeling that you were going to say no, but I'm right with you, brother. Even though I'm a musician, I have no rhythm. I've got two left feet. It is a travesty. Well, guys, I appreciate your time and coming in. We're having to move some things around to get it done, but I'm glad we were able to have the conversation and get the word out on the 25th year anniversary of Miles Perret Cancer Services. It's an awesome organization. I love what you guys do and open invite anytime you guys want to come back.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you so much for having us and giving us the opportunity to share our mission and, you know, share what we do with the community a little deeper.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you so much. Yeah, absolutely, We'll end the show the same we do every show. You two are going to look at your single cam right here and we're going to do the reverse of the Louisiana. I don't know what we're calling that segment, just rapid fire, whatever questions Carter thinks in that moment. But we'll start with Tim and then we'll go to Sherry. It could be a word, a phrase, it could be a joke, it could be more information about Miles Perrette, anything that you guys want to end the episode with that you can impart on Acadiana and Internet land at large Tim.
Speaker 1:we'll start with you. My word would be prayers for all those listening and watching. If you could pray for our mission, we'd really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:My word would be hope. We see it every day, so if people can continue to help us would be hope. You know, we see it every day. So if people can continue to help us, you know, spread the hope in the community.
Speaker 4:Hey, thanks for tuning into the show. Since you made it this far, might as well give us a like, a follow, a subscribe. You know whatever you got to do to alert you that there's a new episode out. Look, it helps us grow and it allows us to give you the content that, well, you deserve. If you want to be a sponsor, if you want to be a guest, if you just want to berate me, hey, all goes in the same place. Info at Acadianacastcom, email info at Acadianacastcom and for more locally sourced podcasts, go to Acadianacastcom. Bye.
