Secret donor gives $19K to cancer fund at Horseshoe Cove

EAST MANATEE — At a community coffee for 300 at Horseshoe Cove RV Resort on Thursday morning, Linda Hager presented a stunning surprise.

An anonymous donor had contributed a $19,024 cashier’s check to match funds raised by the community in an American Cancer Society Mini Relay Walk.

Alan and Linda Hager were co-chairs of the Horseshoe Cove fundraiser.

“Can you imagine? We sat there and cried,” Linda Hager, a cancer survivor, said when a neighbor brought the check to her Wednesday night.

The check had been placed in an envelope with a note and taped to a neighbor’s door.

“Thank you for being my friends, I assure you I have prayed for you all,” the donor said in the note, and signed it simply, “A Friend.”

The anonymous donation brings Horseshoe Cove’s total to $41,079.33.

In past years, the little community has never raised more than $11,000.

Elise Aubourg, community representative for the American Cancer Society, was speechless when the check was handed to her Thursday.

“I was full of tears, I couldn’t speak. It was a blessing and a miracle and we’re so thankful,” Aubourg said.

The anonymous donor has been the buzz of the community.

“We were all so shocked. It’s been the talk of the community: Who could have done it?” Horseshoe Cove resident Ann Jerman said. “It’s amazing what people can do when they put their minds to it.”

The donor appears to be someone who has a personal experience with cancer.

“You (cancer) have been haunting humanity for eons,” the donor wrote. “I am going to fight you with everything I have. Please accept this contribution to the American Cancer Society on behalf of the residents of Horseshoe Cove as a small part of our fight against cancer.

“This donation may have come from my checkbook, but the intent is from my heart.”

James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee editor, can be contacted at 745-7021.