“Oprah’s Big Give” is coming to Maine – sort of.

WVII Bangor announced Tuesday that ABC has selection it as one of 100 stations to receive $10,000 to support the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program. As part of the network's “Oprah's Big Give” Affiliate Outreach Program, ABC stations across the country could submit proposals for projects that would help their local communities. Locally, the money will be used to help cancer patients get transportation to and from treatment appointments.

Many need daily or weekly treatment, often over the course of several months, and they may not have a car or be able to drive themselves. The American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program provides free transportation for cancer patients to and from their life-saving appointments-exclusively by way of volunteer drivers who donate their time and the use of their personal vehicles in order to help others.

I know there were some not-so-favorable comments posted on the BDN Web site about this show, but I don’t think anyone can complain about money that will help local people.

Now it’s time to see if we can make that money grow. In the spirit of Oprah's Big Give, Aroostook, Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington county businesses and residents are being challenged to increase the amount that Oprah’s given and here’s how you can help:

• The recent sale of daffodils at local Hannaford Supermarkets helped support this program.
• The Hampton Inn in Bangor is raffling off a free stay to customers who come in and make a donation and 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards Road to Recovery.
• The Avon Store in the Airport Mall on Union Street in Bangor will donate 40 percent of the proceeds from several Avon products to the cause.

The money raised will be used to purchase gas cards to offset the rising price of gas for the Society's generous volunteers that donate both their time and use of their personal vehicles to drive cancer patients.

• You can also contact Gene Hardin at WVII, by email at ghardin@wvii.com or by calling 945-6457 for more info on how to help the cause.
• The American Cancer Society also is recruiting volunteers across Maine to ensure that all cancer patients have transportation to and from their treatments. If you have a car and some spare time, you can volunteer and help someone in your community keep a very important appointment. Whether you are available once a month or once a week, even for an hour, you can be a Road to Recovery volunteer. For more information about the program, contact the American Cancer Society at (800) 227-2345.