A gift to help others

Ginette Zewinski has a heart of gold. She radiates kindness and has the type of personality that a person connects with instantly. Ginette’s thoughtfulness touched the health system in 2020 when she made a generous donation to the Baystate Regional Cancer Program at Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

What propelled Ginette’s generosity was the care that she and her late husband, Edward, both received at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, she for breast cancer and Edward for prostate cancer.

“When I had breast cancer, I had my surgery right here in Greenfield,” shared Ginette. “Whenever we needed the hospital and we went there, we were always very satisfied. They took good care of my husband and they took good care of me, too.”

Born in France, Ginette met Edward, a lifelong resident of western Massachusetts, and the two were married on January 22, 1955 and settled into their home in Turners Falls. Ginette spent 32 years as a French and Spanish teacher in Greenfield and Edward was a machinist for the Millers Falls Paper Company. After celebrating 65 years of marriage, Ginette unfortunately lost her husband in March 2020 after a battle with COVID-19. Though he is no longer here, she recalls conversations she had with him about how important it was to have quality healthcare just minutes from their home.

“To have care like this so close to us is wonderful,” shared Ginette. “We used to say, ‘We live in a small town and we are very lucky to have a hospital like this’.”

At the heart of it, Ginette shares that she just wants to give back so she can help others.

“We decided to give the money to cancer care because there are so many people who are sick and need the care,” she shared.

Ginette and Edward’s willingness to pay it forward will help to ensure that quality healthcare remains in their community and, as a result, Ginette will get her wish of helping so many.