It's great to be 8!

The day we received our official 501c3 status in 2012 - look at those little guys!

Today Hope Scarves is 8. Like all birthdays it seems like just yesterday and forever ago when this little idea came to be…

I am humbled and honored to have been trusted with the love and support of thousands of people facing cancer over the past 8 years. Husbands supporting wives, grandmothers sending Hope Scarves to grandchildren, employees rallying around a co-worker. And individuals asking for help and support personally when they request a Hope Scarf for themselves. (Asking for help is hard. I see courage in every request.)

Though our organization has grown tremendously over these 8 years and we’ve added efficiencies and systems - each Hope Scarf is still a sacred gift of love and courage.

And, I’m proud of how we have grown up. Realizing after my metastatic breast cancer diagnosis that scarves & stories are practical and inspiring but they aren’t going to save someone’s life, we expanded our work to include raising money for research. Investing over $1 million in MBC research over the last 3 years. And, we are just getting started.

As I look back on these 8 years I am filled with love and gratitude. I started Hope Scarves as a way to turn my scary experience facing cancer into something beautiful. A dream realized over and over and over. And now it’s not just my scary experience that is wrapped in love, but thousands. Our scarf recipients, storytellers, volunteers, donors, board members and so many more. Even those who haven’t personally faced cancer have found grace and joy through our work.

But, I’m not satisfied. Not even close. There is so much more work to be done. We are engaged in a strategic plan for Hope Scarves, looking ahead at where we want to be in 2-5 years. And, I am excited about my newest project, My Hopeful Life, as a bigger platform to share my story and connect beyond cancer…

Dreaming about the future can be hard when you live with the uncertainty of cancer. I look at the sweet faces of our young children from 8 years ago and I just want to freeze time. I look back at pictures of myself and miss my strong, healthy body. I miss my eyelashes and full eyebrows. Gosh, I miss my carefree dreams. Starting a conversation of where we will be in 2-5 years…cue giant lump in my throat.

Everything is just a bit more tentative now…

So, I come back to my foundation - love, hope, gratitude. Reminding myself, I am grounded here.

It’s great to be 8. Join me in celebrating 8 years of Hope Scarves…

And many more!