Jamie Cooper Moales poses with a photo of her late sister, Sara Elizabeth Cooper.
When West Virginia native Sara Elizabeth Cooper passed away from anaplastic large cell lymphoma in September 2000 — three months after her 17th birthday — no one could know that it would result in a lifelong commitment for her family.
Following the 25th anniversary of her passing, the Cooper family, led by her sister, Jamie Cooper Moales, vice president of development for WVU Medicine and Health Sciences, has established the Sara Elizabeth Cooper Fund. The donation includes an immediate pledge and a planned gift that provide flexible funding to be spent at the discretion of WVU Cancer Institute leadership, with a preference for research associated with adolescent and young adult cancers or programming to benefit those patients.
“Since Sara’s death, I have made it my mission to honor her life and memory, and like many others with this shared experience, fight back against the disease that took her from us far too soon,” said Cooper Moales, who has focused most of her 20-year career in fundraising in support of biomedical research and academic medicine. “You want to be able to continue to pay it forward and show others that you understand what it’s like. In this journey, there are so many people you don’t even know helping you along the way. It’s truly what West Virginians have always done for one another: We support our own in the hard times.”
As her career took her into the medical research space, it became clear to Cooper Moales that if her sister had been diagnosed now with the same rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, she would have survived.
“Given the access I’ve had to some of the most brilliant minds in the world, I took the opportunity to educate myself on the advances in cancer immunotherapies that could have benefited Sara,” Cooper Moales said. “In an effort to pay it forward, I’ve established funds in her name in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and now in our home state of West Virginia, which is so meaningful. I’ve never hesitated to share my story — my sister’s story — and the collection of other wonderful family members I honor who have been taken by cancer or heart disease.”
Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, M.D., executive chair and director of the WVU Cancer Institute, said cancer treatment has advanced significantly over the past 25 years, in part thanks to investments in research.
“The Cooper family story is an inspiring look at the way we can navigate a devastating
loss into a passion for making the next person diagnosed with cancer have a better
outcome,” Hazard-Jenkins said. “The WVU Cancer Institute is humbled by the Cooper
family’s generosity, and we are fortunate to honor Sara’s life, one cut way too
short.”
The WVU Cancer Institute reported 184,993 patient visits in 2024, a number that has more than doubled since 2020. Those figures tell Cooper Moales that in addition to a growing need for research to advance cancer treatment and develop cures, the need for patient and family support services has also grown.
“Sara wanted to be a mother more than anything,” Cooper Moales said. “Now, having children of my own, it hits differently. I am aware that, had she lived, there would have been struggles for her to have a family. The adolescent and young adult space in cancer is often underfunded and overlooked.”
Cooper Moales noted that facilities like Rosenbaum Family House are crucial during difficult times.
“I know what it’s like for a family to be away from home and have to stay in a hotel,” she said, noting treatment for Sara’s illness took her family to three different states. “A facility like Rosenbaum Family House provides families with a touchpoint of humanity and encouragement to keep going, which is so crucial during those difficult days.”
While Cooper Moales readily admits her goal is personal, she hopes others will be inspired by Sara’s story and join her to give patients a quality of life her sister didn’t have.
“The need is great, but our ability to make a significant impact is even greater,” Cooper Moales said. “I hope others will consider contributing to Sara’s fund or another established fund, or by creating one of their own. If you have a passion to help, you can make an impact on so many lives. And our fellow West Virginians deserve our help.”
Visit give.wvu.edu/SaraElizabethCooper to join Cooper Moales in supporting Sara’s fund.
Philanthropic gifts to the WVU Cancer Institute are made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University and its affiliated entities.