Wreaths For Hope was born from a characteristic that the Mingo family of the Robbinston‑based Mingo's Evergreen Products knows well: hope. Artie Mingo knows what it means to go without sleep because a loved one is ill. When his son was born almost 20 years ago with a severe blood disorder, the family spent many sleepless nights while the infant was in and out of hospitals.
     "It was hope that kept our family going," Mingo says. His son is growing into adulthood now, but Mingo notes that he "spends a good part of his life in the hospital and goes in every day for a blood transfusion." One of the greatest gifts a person can be given, Mingo says, is the peace that comes from having the resources available to make a time of illness and duress less stressful.
     Fast-forward from those early days when Mingo did not know whether his child would survive to Washington County today. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Maine is one of a handful of states with a higher-than-average cancer rate, and Washington County has the highest rate in the state. Nationally, just about one in three people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. Mingo says that it would be hard to find someone in the county who has not been affected by cancer in one way or another. During the research phase, Mingo says, "I realized more than ever before what a difference research dollars make" in the fight against cancer.
Inspired by the national charitable organization formed by the entertainment industry, Stand up to Cancer, the      Worcester Wreath Company's Wreaths Across America veterans remembrance program, and cancer prevention and resource efforts around the state and country, Mingo got to brainstorming. The result is Wreaths For Hope, a pending 501c3 nonprofit that makes a special holiday wreath made in the shape of the well‑known ribbon form associated with cancers of all kinds. The wreaths can be personalized with one of 27 ribbon colors representing particular types of cancer, or lavender for all cancers.
     The best part of it all, says Mingo, is that 20% of the $19.95 purchase price will be donated to the Maine Cancer Foundation and an additional 10% will be designated for transportation initiatives to improve access to cancer treatment centers and hospitals. "My vision is to build a transportation unit to supply transport for people to go to Bangor and beyond. It shouldn't be a struggle," he says, relating the story of an older couple from Calais, both with cancer, who were on different and grueling cancer treatment schedules in the Bangor region. Being able to provide transportation, or even helping with gas purchases, would make a significant difference to the physical and emotional stress that cancer patients must endure to get back and forth for treatments, he adds.
     Along with the benefits to cancer patients and their support networks, the local economy will benefit as well. The wreath‑making part will be done at the family's evergreen business, with a 2014 holiday season goal of 25,000 wreaths. Mingo hopes to build it to 100,000 wreaths in 2015. In five years' time, he estimates that 200 extra seasonal employees could be needed to make the wreaths and special bows, a significant boost to the local economy. In addition, Kelco Industries, another evergreen company in the county, has been contracted to manufacture the special wire forms around which the ribbon‑shaped wreaths are made. "Kelco is happy," Mingo says with a smile.
     The brainstorming and research have paid off. The Mingo family has heard from people all over the country with ties to the county and to Maine who are not only ordering wreaths but who want to know how they can help spread the word or use Wreaths For Hope for local cancer fundraising efforts. That too is part of the Wreaths For Hope structure. Information about how to join such an effort is available at the website <www.wreathsforhope.org>. "The feedback has been unbelievable," says Mingo.