Give the Gift of Encouragement

Angéline Fahey was an 18-year-old student at the University of Arizona, starting an exciting new adventure as a college freshman.  After experiencing severe pain in her leg, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer.

Suddenly, Angéline’s life became a whirlwind of medical tests, treatments and procedures, including multiple chemotherapy sessions, surgeries, blood transfusions and much more.

Thankfully, Angéline is now cancer free - and it is our honor to see her every day at the Tucson Headquarters of Beads of Courage, where she works as our Encouragement Programs Manager.

Please take a moment to read Angéline’s message below and learn about the power of Beads of Courage to give hope and honor courage during a fight for life.  Then, CLICK HERE TO DONATE and give the gift of encouragement to more than 60,000 children and teens coping with serious illness in the Beads of Courage Program.  

Fiesta Bowl Helicopter Ball Drop

Beads of Courage, Inc. is one of just 13 Arizona charities taking part in the Inaugural Fiesta Bowl Helicopter Ball Drop!

The helicopter ball drop will consist of up to 2,000 golf balls being dropped from above.  The lucky participant whose ball lands in the hole first will walk away with $5,000 and a Wild Card spot to take a shot for $1,000,000!

Help us win $1,000,00!  If Beads of Courage sells the most golf balls, our Executive Director gets an automatic Wild Card entry to take a swing for the chance to win $1,000,000 at the finals of the Wells Fargo Fiesta Bowl Million Dollar Hole-In-One!

With only 2,000 balls available, they are selling quickly, so we need everyone to buy their balls immediately!  The more balls we have in the Helicopter Ball Drop, the better our chances to win.  The last day to purchase is November 14, 2015.

CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR BALLS NOW!

Little Beads

This is a guest post by Beads of Courage member Mary Myers Huddleston, a 17-year-old in our Chronic Illness program.  She wrote about her recent hospitalization for a school assignment. 

The young man, clothed in blue scrubs with a surgical mask around his neck, sat on the edge of my bed.  Leaning over, he cupped his hands around my ear and whispered: “I know this is so hard, but you can’t give up; this is the time that you have to fight as hard as you can -- I believe in you.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. My heart palpitating deep in the depths of my chest. I feel the cold sweat beading around my hairline and the tear rolling off my cheek.  My parents were out of town.

I just wanted my mom. 

Linda, a middle-aged nurse with short blond hair and thick, colorful clog shoes, knocks on my door: “Good to see you again. How are you feelin’, sweet pea?” she asked.  

Support Beads of Courage in September!

You see a bead.  We see a story.

September is National Bead Challenge Month.  All month long, we are working hard to raise much-needed funds to support our mission and sustain our programs.

And we need your help!  

Beads of Courage, Inc. is a nonprofit organization serving over 60,000 children who are coping with cancer, congenital heart defects, and other serious or life-threatening conditions.

As a nonprofit, we rely on the kindness of people like you to help us put beads in the hands of courageous kids – beads that honor their journey and show everything they’ve  accomplished in the face of tough challenges.

Young Racer Carries Beads of Courage to Give Back to Peers

Callum Smith
(Photo by On Track Promotions) 

Callum Smith is turning heads with his talent as a Junior Shifter Kart Racer in the S5 series.  At just 14 years of age, he has achieved a perfect score so far in 2015, winning all the regional and national races in his class, including four regional series races and four national races.

And don’t mistake this type of racing for recreational go-karting.  Shifter karts are a challenge to drive and master, and many of today’s top drivers in NASCAR, IndyCar and F1 honed their skills in these powerful racing machines.

Succeeding as a racer is just one of the challenges Callum has faced with fierce determination.  At age 10, he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory disorder of the digestive tract that can have life-threatening complications.  

Synchronized Fireflies Inspire Winning Bead Design

Every year, Beads of Courage challenges children, siblings and caregivers in 10 hospitals and sites around the U.S. to design beads in our annual Design A Bead program.  Participants at each location are given a specific theme and are asked to draw a concept for a bead that symbolizes that theme.

For example, what would LOVE look like if it was a bead?  What about STRENGTH, LIFE, or PEACE?

The Design A Bead challenge culminates when the Top Design at each location is chosen and is turned into a real glass bead by a talented lampwork bead artist.  

Children and teens who are members of Beads of Courage are more than a little familiar with beads as symbols of courage, honor and hope.  The signature Beads of Courage arts-in-medicine program supports more than 60,000 children and teens coping with serious illness, providing colorful beads for every test, treatment and procedure they undergo.  The beads offer a tangible way for children to tell their unique stories of courage.