June 4, 2025
Over its 25-year history, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital’s Pink Rose Fund has grown into a critical resource for women in northwest Connecticut, as well as one of the region’s most popular philanthropic beneficiaries. The fund provides support for educational outreach, screenings, and comprehensive and coordinated access to breast cancer services, programs, and treatments—particularly for underserved and underinsured patients.
Leslie Handelman, a retired nurse navigator, helped lead the way in creating more healthcare access by launching the Pink Rose Fund, as well as helping to establish nurse navigation programs at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital.
“In the 2000s, we were screening hundreds of women a year through Susan G. Komen and CBCCEP grants—the hospital no longer receives the Komen grant—and it was an amazing resource for the community,” shares Handelman, who now regularly volunteers at the hospital and serves on its Philanthropic Advancement Committee.
“Many people were not insured back then, so we would go through grant, state, and federal funding pretty quickly,” she adds. “We started raising additional money to provide more screenings, services, and supplies to patients. That led to the creation of the Pink Rose Fund, so we could provide continued care to patients without interruption—and we funded every single person we could.”
Nurse navigation is also a major component of Charlotte Hungerford Hospital’s care for cancer patients, a role that Handelman describes as her favorite during her nursing career.
“I loved being a nurse navigator. I was often the second phone call to women who just received a positive biopsy. I would invite them to the hospital and tell them I am going to help you get through this process. We educated our patients about their diagnosis and provided an extra set of ears when they met with their physicians and surgeons.
“Breast cancer is a complicated disease and patients have so many questions,” Handelman explains. “Rather than having them go on the internet to find the information themselves, I would sit down with them and share how treatable their breast cancer can be, especially if it was detected early. That was a wonderful thing to say to people.”
According to Handelman, it was a true team effort to bring these beloved programs to northwest Connecticut. Thanks to the support she and her team received from colleagues throughout her career, she remains heavily engaged in the hospital’s vitality and made the generous commitment to join the hospital’s 1916 Society by including Charlotte Hungerford in her estate plans.
“The hospital gave me a career that I could never have imagined,” says Handelman. “My husband, Dr. William Handelman, is still practicing at Charlotte Hungerford and we are very enthusiastic about supporting the hospital because I love it dearly. I believe Charlotte Hungerford is a gem for the community. You will receive very special one-on-one care here, you will not be lost in the healthcare system, you will not become a number or statistic.”
“It’s difficult to capture the depth of Leslie’s impact on this hospital and the hundreds of lives she’s touched,” says Debbie Bender, Director of Philanthropy, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital. “Twenty-five years ago, she founded the Pink Rose Fund—out of a profound determination to remove barriers for local women seeking early breast cancer diagnosis. That single act of compassion has grown into a legacy of hope and healing.
“As a nurse, a navigator, and now a devoted volunteer and philanthropist, Leslie has led with heart and unwavering purpose. Her service on the Philanthropic Advancement Committee and her recent decision to join the 1916 Society are testaments to a lifelong commitment of lifting others and strengthening this community.”
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital invites you to support the Pink Rose Fund by clicking here and explore Planned Giving and the 1916 Society by clicking here.