MABAZZA FOUNDATION / ART THAT HEALS

A Little Comfort
on the Hardest Days.

Care backpacks for people facing cancer. Inspired by my own treatment. Built around the small things that made difficult days a little easier.

“When I was recovering from pancreatic cancer, I made myself a promise: if I could ever help someone going through what I had been through, I would.”

— Uchenna Obinabo-Mabazza, Founder

Help us fill a care backpack →

WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME

I remember what it was like to sit in that chair.

When I went through chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, I learned that a treatment day is about much more than medicine. There are the long hours, the uncertainty, the exhaustion, the waiting, and the thoughts that follow you into the room. Sometimes even the smallest discomfort can feel enormous.

I learned to pack a bag. I brought my iPad, books, snacks, water, and whatever I thought might help me get through the day. As treatment went on, I discovered needs I had never anticipated. A soft blanket when I felt cold. Something for dry lips. Tissues, wipes, a little lotion. Something to occupy my mind when the hours stretched on.

These may sound like ordinary things. But when you're the person receiving treatment, they stop feeling ordinary. They become small pieces of comfort and dignity at a time when so much is out of your control.

Every item in these care backpacks was chosen because it answers a need I remember from my own experience. I know what it feels like to arrive at treatment frightened, tired, or unsure what the next few hours will bring. I also know that not everyone has the time, energy, help, or resources to prepare a bag.

“I can't take away someone's diagnosis. I can't promise that treatment will be easy. But I can try to make one day a little kinder.”

A PROMISE KEPT

From my recovery to someone else's treatment day.

While I was recovering, I made a promise to myself. If I had the chance to reach back and help someone living through what I had just experienced, I would take it. The Healing Backpacks project is one way I am keeping that promise.

The project began with veterans. I come from a veteran household, so caring for people who served has a special place in my heart. Support from the City of Boston's veterans grant program helped Mabazza Foundation put this idea into action, and a second consecutive year of grant approval has helped sustain that veterans-focused work. Its success gave me the conviction to bring this kind of comfort to even more people.

Now I want that circle of care to grow. Cancer does not choose by age, background, diagnosis, or military service. Our expanded public appeal is for people facing all types of cancer — veterans and civilians alike. The veterans program remains important to us, while donations from individuals can help us reach more people who need comfort during treatment and recovery.

This is not about giving someone a collection of products. It is about making sure that, for a few hours on a difficult day, they feel a little more prepared, a little more comfortable, and a little less alone.

FOR THE PEOPLE WE LOVE

For the person you wish you could be sitting beside.

Maybe someone you love is going through treatment across the country. You are in California, and they are in Maine. You call, you text, you ask how they are doing, but you cannot be there to hold their hand or carry their bag into the hospital. I know that helpless feeling is real for families, too.

Maybe you are caring for someone at home and wish you could give them one less thing to think about. Or maybe you have already said goodbye to someone you loved, and you wish you could have done just a little more to ease their days.

Some people will recover. Some are facing cancers that threaten their lives. And some of the people we love will not make it home. I will not pretend a backpack can change those realities. But I believe the day someone is living through right now still matters. Their comfort matters. Their dignity matters. The knowledge that somebody thought of them matters.

A gift in honor of someone still fighting, someone who survived, or someone we have lost can turn love and remembrance into comfort for another person.

WHAT YOUR KINDNESS PUTS INSIDE

The little things aren't little when you need them.

Each backpack is assembled with the same question in mind: What would have helped me on a hard treatment day? Depending on supplies and the needs of our care partners, a backpack may include:

A soft blanket and comfortable socks, for warmth and a touch of home
A reusable water bottle and hydration essentials
Tissues, gentle wipes, hand sanitizer, and personal-care supplies
Lip balm and hand lotion for everyday comfort
Coloring materials and simple creative activities to help pass the time
A note of encouragement, chosen with care
A sturdy, useful bag to carry everything in

Contents may vary to meet recipient needs and care-site requirements. A care backpack is a gesture of practical and emotional support, not medical treatment.

YOUR GIFT, YOUR WAY

You don't have to give a lot to give someone comfort.

Some people can give $10. Some can give $150. Some can give more. I am grateful for every gift, because this project is built from the belief that many small acts of care can make something deeply meaningful possible.

Give $10 Give $20 Give $50 Give $80 Give $100 Give $150

$10 or $20 helps with everyday essentials. $50, $80, or $100 helps fill and prepare care bags. $150 can help underwrite a substantial portion of a complete backpack and its delivery. Actual costs vary.

Give any amount →

Choose a one-time gift or, if enabled on the donation form, ongoing support.

Give in someone's honor. Give in someone's memory.

You may be giving because someone you love is beginning chemotherapy. You may be giving because a friend survived. Or you may be giving for someone you would give anything to see again.

Whichever brings you here, your gift can carry that person's name — and the love behind it — forward. Select In Honor Of or In Memory Of in the donation form when those dedication options are enabled.

Love has a way of becoming care, even when we cannot be there ourselves.

ANOTHER WAY TO HELP

Prefer to purchase an item?

Our Walmart registry offers another way to support the original Healing Backpacks initiative for veterans. You can choose supplies directly, and the items received will go toward preparing care backpacks for veterans in treatment.

Shop the care-backpack registry →

From someone who has been there: thank you.

I don't take your generosity lightly. I know what these moments feel like from the other side of the hospital chair. I know how powerful it is to discover that someone has thought about what you might need.

If this project makes just one difficult afternoon feel a little less frightening, a little warmer, or a little easier to get through, that matters. And together, we can do it again for someone else.

Thank you for helping me keep my promise.

Uchenna Obinabo-Mabazza
Founder, Mabazza Foundation

For businesses and community partners

If your company, workplace, or community group would like to underwrite several care backpacks, provide supplies, or discuss a partnership, please contact info@mabazzafoundation.com. Individuals are the heart of this campaign; organizational support helps us extend its reach.

The City of Boston veterans grant supports the veterans-focused program. This broader public appeal seeks additional contributions to expand comfort-based outreach to people facing cancer. Gifts designated for a restricted program remain dedicated to that purpose.

Mabazza Foundation Inc. | 501(c)(3) public charity | EIN 33-2353033
mabazzafoundation.com

Art That Heals: Care Backpacks for People Facing Cancer

From one pancreatic cancer survivor to someone facing treatment: a small bag of comfort, dignity, and care.