Two months after 4-year-old Charlotte Martin was diagnosed with type B lymphocytic leukemia, representatives of Millwright Local 1263 presented her family with a check for $25,000 from the UBC Carpenters Helping Hands program.

Charlotte is the daughter of Local 1263 member William Casey Martin. She is receiving care at Children’s Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta, and her treatment could involve both chemo and radiation therapy. Because Martin will need to be at the hospital with his family for an extended time, his work hours will be limited, possibly threatening the family’s health-insurance coverage.

“The donation will assist this UBC family in helping their daughter fight cancer by allowing their bills to be paid and by providing resources to pay COBRA for their insurance if Casey comes to deplete his hour bank,” said Millwright Local 1263 Business Agent Logan Brown, who, along with Wayne Jennings, executive secretary treasurer of the Southern States Millwright Regional Council, applied to the Carpenters Helping Hands program on the family’s behalf.

Funded by United Brotherhood of Carpenters locals, business partners, and councils, the Helping Hands program provides grants to members facing adverse circumstances. Jennings, Brown, and Local 1263 Business Agent Robert Strickland presented the grant on Aug. 28 to Martin and his family, including wife Victoria and children Charlotte, Catherine, and Samuel.

“My wife and I were floored,” Martin said about their reaction to receiving the grant. “We never expected the Helping Hands program to make such a generous donation. This makes a world of difference to us. It is so reassuring to know that when the time comes that I will have to miss work, there is a safety net of funds so that my wife and I can focus on Charlotte.”

Charlotte is in the third phase of a two-and-a-half-year treatment regimen. The third and fourth phases are the most aggressive, Martin said. “So far she has responded very well to the treatment, and for everything she is going through she is full of energy and in good spirits,” he said.

Formerly a member of Millwright Local 2232, Martin is a second-generation millwright. Several of his family members also work in the trade as members of Local 2232. Strickland said Martin and his family are assets not only to Local 1263 but to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. 

“I’m extremely grateful to work for an organization like the UBC that has a mechanism to assist brothers and sisters in times of need,” Brown said. “I pray the donation will assist Casey in being there for his family and taking care of his little daughter.”