Picture it: New Jersey, 2019.
A young theatre teacher with a rare cancer hops onto her laptop for a workshop called How to Turn Your Story Into Change. And she enjoys it so much that she comes back for an art workshop: creating a Valentine's Day-inspired Rose Wreath. As the pandemic lockdown begins, this becomes her normal space: meeting online with other young adults facing cancer. Without a way to teach, perform, or direct in a traditional sense, she needed a creative outlet to express her shiniest and scariest feelings, and a community that just got it.
That young teacher is me. Five years later, I'm working for that same organization, Cactus Cancer Society, as a Program Coordinator, helping make those very programs that were my deepest comfort happen for others. I know it changes lives because it changed mine.
I'm honored to be raising money for our Create-a-Thon because I believe that creativity matters and that the world needs our art. Our goal is to keep our programs free for all cancer patients from anywhere in the world with an internet connection and a willingness to abide by the US timezones.
In honor of the Create-A-Thon, I will be creating 28 friendship bracelets and sharing them with friends! (That number holds significant to me because I was diagnosed at the age of 28.)
If you'd like to donate to my crafty cause, and maybe even receive one yourself (with a donation of $25 or more!), please donate here. You can also share with others who love getting things in the mail that aren't bills!
Together, I know we can celebrate both our innate creativity and this amazing community of support.
