NORFOLK, Va. — WINKS (With INtentional Kindness and Support) is an organization creating access to resources and assistance for people battling brain tumors.
Their mission is one built on personal experience as WINKS founder Samaria ‘Sam’ Hunter is a brain tumor survivor herself.
For the retired naval officer and mother, it’s been almost a decade since she was diagnosed with a meningioma, or brain tumor, on her right frontal lobe.
Hunter said, “I always tell people my journey was perfectly orchestrated by God, and I am very faithful.”
Just 6 weeks after her first surgery, Hunter says she heard a calling to create a space for people who receive similar diagnoses.
That’s when she founded the non-profit WINKS, using her faith as inspiration.
Hunter adds, “He [God] spoke to me and said this is your purpose, and this has really changed my life.”
The organization provides emotional support, helps patients navigate next steps in treatment, and gives grants to brain tumor patients to help offset their medical bills.
“I was fortunate and had people on my team and on my side who helped me get that information… There are a lot of people who don’t have the wherewithal after a diagnosis like that or just don’t have enough access to resources to get that information,” said Hunter.
It’s also the reason why the TEGNA Foundation saw WINKS as a perfect recipient for the TEGNA Community Grant with $5,000 for WINKS to keep their mission going.
This gift also strikes a personal note with Hunter, reminding her of people she loves who lost their battle with the disease.
Hunter tells us, “The year I was diagnosed a shipmate and friend of mine, Terri Bradshaw, was diagnosed shortly after me and she lost her battle the next year. Just in August, another shipmate and mentor, Admiral Danelle Barret was diagnosed, and within 13 months she lost her battle.”
Hunter says her mission lives on through them.
When asked about the grant, Hunter says, “We need a cure for this disease, but while we await that cure, these families need support. So, I am so thankful.”
She tells 13News Now the grant will allow their group the opportunity to send on the gift of giving.
They plan to use the money by putting it right back into their program, giving grants to patients with brain tumors.