RTS CARES

Right Turn Strategies [RTS] is dedicated to helping improve the lives of those battling cancer, and the lives of the co-survivors and loved ones right there by their sides. 

More than two decades ago, RTS leadership founded the fundraising group, Team Heather, in memory of Heather Gardner Starcher, a 26-year old daughter, sister, wife, and friend who lost her battle to breast cancer. 

In those two decades, Team Heather has raised nearly $700,000 for cancer research, education, screening, and treatment. 

Last year, RTS looked high and low for an unparalleled and dedicated organization that caters to all the unmanageable impacts a family experiences when a member of that family is battling cancer - any type of cancer - and we found The Dempsey Center. 

RTS is excited to put the full fundraising weight of Team Heather behind the life-changing efforts of The Dempsey Center, an organization that services families impacted by cancer with a much needed - and often unachievable - “wrap around hug” that softens all of the non-medical rough spots. 

The Dempsey Center was founded 16 years ago by actor Patrick Dempsey in honor of his mother, Amanda, and her fight against cancer. It offers support - in-person and virtual - to folks in Maine and in over 30 states and 4 countries.

The Dempsey Center offers anyone touched by cancer, FREE OF CHARGE: before, during, and after cancer support groups, one-on-one counseling, massage therapy, Reiki, acupuncture, personalized nutrition consultations, community gardens, nutrition classes and workshops, movement and fitness consultations and workshops, a 24/7 intentional “Warm” line, grief and loss support groups, legacy and life reflections, services for kids and teens [including a summer program called, “Space2Breathe”], and support at any and every stage of a family’s battle against any and all cancers.

The fundraising arm of RTS is humbled and honored to partner with The Dempsey Center in providing that much needed “wrap around hug” for families in the midst of their fight against cancer, and we thank you for being a part of these efforts. 

Together, we CAN make a difference in the lives of people impacted by cancer.