Every day is a gift from God. How thankful we are is our gift back to Him.

Those are Cindy Mellinger's words. They are words that Mellinger lives by; they are words that she takes to heart.

Mellinger is a resident of Ephrata, a cancer survivor and a serial volunteer. After inexplicably beating an unbeatable form of leukemia more than 30 years ago, Mellinger has dedicated herself to living her best possible life, and that involves helping others.

"At that time, I asked myself, 'Did I do anything that matters? Did I do enough for the Lord?'" said Mellinger. "I hadn't found my purpose. On your tombstone there's your birth date and your death date, and there's a dash in between. I asked myself, 'What's in the dash?' I said, 'Lord, if you take me, I know I'll be with You. But if you give me an opportunity, I will find what that purpose is.'"

During a ceremony last fall, Mellinger humbly and reluctantly accepted the Northern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce's annual Aaron L. Groff Servant Leader Award for her enduring impact on the community. Mellinger, who retired from a productive 40-year career at Blue Ridge Communications in December of 2024, has volunteered countless hours to local causes.

"(The cancer) felt like a sinus infection, and I never had sinus infections," said Mellinger. "I really wasn't feeling well. I was just so exhausted and so tired. I thought it was just me pushing hard at work. I was in my 30s, and the doctors told me it was terminal. I was like, 'Wow, I don't want to die.' I made arrangements with a funeral home. At that point, I realized, 'How was I going to be remembered?'"

In 1994, Mellinger was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood and bone marrow cancer. Through treatments at local hospitals, Mellinger was in remission for six years.

But the cancer returned, and on September 13, 2001 - a date that she now marks as her birthday or re-birthday - Mellinger underwent a transplant procedure thanks to a bone marrow donation of 7.4 million stem cells from her younger sister, Cherri Maurer. Despite the new bone marrow, chemotherapy and nearly 100 units of donated blood, Mellinger was given only a 30% chance to survive.

"I was told I wouldn't live past one or two years," said Mellinger, who has also faced struggles with anorexia throughout her life. "By the grace of God, I'm now going on my 25th year. I no longer go for checkups. Now I know my reason for being here is to help people."

Not long after recovering from the bone marrow transplant operation, Mellinger became a spokesperson for blood donations and a hospice care volunteer.

"Some people came to me and asked me to walk in their cancer journeys with them," said Mellinger. "I got to meet a lot of wonderful people. I met a lot of people who were fighting battles."

Currently, Mellinger is involved with nearly 20 altruistic organizations - nonprofits, civic groups, churches, community causes, libraries and local municipalities. Since her initial cancer diagnosis, she has donated thousands of volunteer hours to a total of more than 40 worthy causes.

"I have not stopped," said Mellinger. "I have volunteered seven days a week. Opportunities came to help people."

"I was given 25 years I wasn't supposed to have. I'm very blessed to be here," concluded Mellinger. "I'm nothing. I'm just here to bless and help people. There is so much pain in the world. There are so many people who just need a smile."

Mellinger has got plenty of those.