NILES — Around Niles, Sir Winston Bailey Brown, the golden retriever, is known for his service as a therapy dog at Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Services. There, he helps to comfort those grieving, while also providing support to staff at the funeral home.

But the pooch earned a new reputation starting in March when he was used as an advocate for Pennies for Patients. The annual fundraiser collects money for the Berrien County Cancer Service, a nonprofit that provides free skilled nurses to local cancer patients, as well as access to medical equipment and numerous other support services.

Funeral home owner Tim Brown serves on the board of the Berrien County Cancer Services and he said he knows that many of the people helped by the BCCS live in Niles.

Brown put out a calling on his business’ Facebook page, stating that Sir Winston Bailey Brown would happily accept pennies for the cause.

“We had all sorts of people come in to drop off pennies,” Brown said.  “A lot of people talked about their own personal struggles with cancer or family members that have struggled with cancer. Almost everyone had a story.”

Those who donated to the cause got to spend a few minutes with Sir Winston. Brown said Sir Winston did not mind this at all. With Sir Winston’s help, the funeral home raised more than $1,800 for the cause.

On Thursday, Brown joined Nancy Church, the executive director at the BCCS, in collecting money for Pennies for Patients at the drop off location, at St. John’s United Church of Christ, 601 Sycamore St. in Niles.

Church said efforts like Brown’s to get the therapy dog involved help to make the process of raising money fun, while also helping to spread the word about BCCS.

“If you can make it fun, people respond,” Church said.

Numerous other organizations in Niles also helped to raise money for the cause. Greater Niles Credit Union associates Susan Larson and Mariam Rowland also stopped by the drop-off location Thursday.

Larson said this is the first year that the credit union has participated. She said Brown contacted the bank and asked them to support the cause by putting out a collection jar. They started raising funds for BCCS starting in April.

While Larson said they are not sure on the exact amount that they raised, she approximated that they raised at least $200 for BCCS.

After learning more this year about what BCCS does for local cancer patients, Larson said credit union associates felt inspired to give back.

“We will participate every year and I am sure it will continue to grow,” Larson said. “The more we educate our members on it, the more they are going to give.”

Church said helping new people to become acquainted with what BCCS does is a major goal and helps to encourage people across Berrien County to support the cause. Finding creative ways such as getting a local therapy dog involved can also help.

“Who could say no to that face?” Brown said of Sir Winston.

On Thursday, Niles and Stevensville drop-off locations collected money for Pennies for Patients. Residents are encouraged to donate to BCCS at any time. Donations can be made online at bccancerservice.org or by visiting the BCCS at 7301 Red Arrow Highway, Stevensville.