Volunteer Spotlight: Kim Hernandez

Volunteers make the work the Living Beyond Breast Cancer staff does every day possible. From in-office support to event staffing and peer helpline calls, people like you help us strive toward our vision of a world where no one with breast cancer feels uninformed or alone.

To celebrate the people who devote so much of their time to LBBC’s programs and resources we’ve started Volunteer Spotlight, a series to share more about who they are and why they do what they do.

Kim Hernandez, 50, of Knightstown, Indiana, is an alumna of LBBC’s Hear My Voice Metastatic Advocacy Program. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in May 2015.

What’s your favorite thing about volunteering in your community?

My favorite thing about volunteering is the powerful feeling of giving back, doing something positive despite the cancer journey and all that is negative in the world.

Each time I volunteer, I feel like I get better at communication. I make new contacts and friends, and I keep in touch with them.

I also build confidence and self-worth. Volunteering is a way to shine the light inside of me in order to edify and encourage others with my faith!

What’s the most unique volunteer activity you’ve ever done?

I have volunteered in my church for years with the ladies events and the teens; I teach Sunday School.

I would have to say the most unique volunteer event would have been the last fall event I had planned at a local Jellystone Park campground: “Reach and Raise with Yogi.” It was canceled when the camp got sold.

I improvised and created a “Reach and Praise” after church one day. We raised money for LBBC and turned it in at the 2019 Living Beyond Breast Cancer Conference on Metastatic Breast Cancer in Philadelphia.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself!

I absolutely love to travel, but when I cannot do that, I thoroughly enjoy the special times with my family and friends on mini adventures while making memories. But I just have to say the beach is my favorite place in the world.

When you’re not volunteering, what are people likely to find you doing?

Being the typical Stage4Lifer: chemotherapy, scans, and doctor appointments. However, now that spring is near, I hope to have the strength to play with all my perennial flowers.

This year I have a small greenhouse and my goal is to make it so I can grow vegetables all year long. I'm very excited about getting it assembled and into use!

I also like going to car shows with Mi Rosa, a 1955 Ford Crown Victoria, and take little mini lunches, brunches, and dinners with friends. It is so fun to talk to different people who make comments about the car, or want to take pictures. Most importantly, we are making everlasting memories!