BC3 Education Foundation awards first Project Pink scholarship to caregiver
Caring for a loved one who was battling breast cancer included preparing meals, readying for the day and running errands, according to a Butler County Community College registered nursing student.
It also included simply watching television or working puzzles with her grandmother.
“Just being there,” said Delaney Staab, of Slippery Rock, and the recipient of BC3’s inaugural $500 BC3 Project Pink for Hope Scholarship. “And being able to provide any sort of distraction in a way that she was not just constantly thinking about it.”
Melissa Philson’s husband, J.R., managed doctors’ appointments for her, assumed all daily household responsibilities and helped with their elementary-school-aged children. Philson is also a breast cancer survivor employed by BC3.
“(He) figured out,” she said, “what some of my meals could be after my chemo sessions.
“I think, the caregiver’s job can be harder, speaking from the perspective of someone who had breast cancer.”
Philson’s experience inspired her last October — during breast cancer awareness month — to announce her creation of a scholarship to benefit a BC3 student who is a survivor of the disease or a caregiver.
BC3’s social awareness club conducts a Project Pink campaign each October to raise funds to support breast cancer awareness and research. Philson, one of the club’s three advisers, said in October 2025 she would match dollar-for-dollar up to $500 any financial contribution to the BC3 Education Foundation during the campaign to support her new scholarship.
The 2025 campaign raised $2,200. Seventy-five percent of the funds raised were contributed to A Glimmer of Hope Foundation in Wexford. Twenty-five percent supported the scholarship.
“Being a survivor, my whole attitude has been to give back and to do something for students,” Philson said. “It is a rare experience that not everyone has. Academic scholarships are incredible and very much needed, but I wanted to provide something from more than just the academic side.”
Staab recalled her time caring for her grandmother, saying, “being there to assist her was one of the most heart-warming and rewarding parts. Because being able to see her become a stronger person each day and to get better and better brought a huge smile to my face.
“And the person that she truly was on the inside slowly become her again.”
Her grandmother has been free of cancer for one year.
The college’s 2026 Project Pink campaign continues through Oct. 31.
Contributions to support the scholarship can be made by check to the BC3 Education Foundation, 107 College Drive, Butler, PA 16002, with “BC3 Project Pink for Hope Scholarship”
Another BC3 employee and breast cancer survivor, Michelle Rock’s husband, David, took care of the couple’s two youngest children. Drove their daughter to gymnastics. Made sure their dinner was on the table.
The stress can add up.
About 2 in 3 caregivers experience moderate to high emotional stress, a 2026 National Alliance on Mental Health report stated. About 1 in 4, according to the report, feel alone. Caregivers average seven “poor mental health days each month,” the report stated.
Caregiver burnout can include physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, according to a 2023 report by the Cleveland Clinic. They may feel fatigue, stress, withdrawn, distracted, alone, angry or helpless, according to a 2025 report by the American Cancer Society.
“Being the ones to have to care for someone and watch someone that they love be sick. I can’t put into words what that probably felt like to them,” Philson said.
Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.
