Beads of Courage Needs Acts of Courage Donations

My headline pretty much says it all.  Beads of Courage is low and trying really hard to supply all the hospitals that they are affiliated with.  Is there a chance you can help?  Here is the link to their donation page which also gives you their address, what kind of beads qualify, (just about anything as long as it doesn't have metallics on the surface, sharp edges, annealed and well cleaned.  Pretty easy to find some spares, isn't it?)  And from my experience, kids love the less than perfect ones just as much.  I save mine with the slightly crooked smiles, color experiments or just doodling around, because I know some child will enjoy them very much. (As pictured in the photo above- some of the loot that will be heading their way:)

http://www.beadsofcourage.org/pages/beadartists.htm

Here's a little story.  One time I was visiting one of the Atlanta hospitals with the Beads of Courage program and kids were coming by and picking out a special bead.  There were all kinds of fancy beads in the tray, but a little boy kept pouring through them.  His fingers were moving them around until his face lit up.  He found a very simple but really nice royal blue bead and said this was the very bead he had been dreaming about.  It had no decoration on it, but to him it was just perfect. That was when we were asking the kids to design a Dream Bead and he told me that he had just found his Dream Bead and didn't need anything else.  The beadmaker happened to be present and told him that she had brought two, so you can imagine his delight when he found and got to take the second one as well.

That stuck with me.  We don't have to submit the fanciest beads. Each of us makes something that will touch someone's soul and will be special to them for the rest of their lives.

I'm hoping you'll join me in a donation in the near future.  It makes a big difference to these kids, and I don't know about you, but I get just as much from it as they do.

Sixty Ladybugs for Beads of Courage...Done!

It's bug season.  Ladybug Stars for Beads of Courage have been populating my studio recently.  You can see most of the 60 that I completed in this photo.  I have made it as a limited edition 100 beads and all are completed now. (can you see me doing a happy dance over here?)

This bead was designed by a young Pittsburgh patient for Beads of Courage.  I took her drawing, and did my best to interpret it in glass.  We even emailed, so we could come up with a design on the back-  which is the flower that you see.  You can buy these fundraising beads from Beads of Courage here.

And of course, I have to tell you about the BoC book.  My bead is on the cover along with the Jester bead that my friend Stephanie White made.  You can find the $14 book here.  It's a small book that has photos of each of the beads offered.  The different ones were each designed by someone associated with Beads of Courage- patients, medical staff, etc.  And then interpreted by members of the lampwork community.

So I know that this post is kind of a sales pitch, but it's for a great cause and not for me.  I love this organization and have personally seen what a difference it makes in these kids and their family's lives during their illness.  And it makes me see the strength and courage it takes to get through all of it.  I am in awe.

Hope you have a wonderful week.  See you right here tomorrow!

Beads of Courage T-Shirts

Reasonably priced and oh, so cute,  Beads of Courage T-Shirts are now available on their website.  And if you're in the mood for Artist Made Beads, please pop over here.

ps  I'm still hoping the NASA Space Shuttle gets launched today.  I feel like I've been writing about it so many times, that we needed to focus on something else.  Cross your fingers with me.

Little Green Men for Beads of Courage

I was recently asked to help out locally for a Beads of Courage special project. I guess there is a wonderful little cancer patient about 6 years old, who holds a special fascination for a classic Sci-Fi movie that has a little green guy. I was asked to make one for him and the staff who supports him during his hospital and chemo stay.

So 9 little green men who have the essence of his favorite character, but not the same, due to copyright laws, have been completed and delivered to our local Beads of Courage volunteer. If you aren't familiar with this fabulous organization, it's a 501(c)3 which supports children who have cancer or other life threatening illnesses. Their website is http://www.beadsofcourage.net.

Flameworking glass artisans provide handmade beads for special activities during the young patients' stay at the hospital. They receive beads for various events in their medical care, whether x-rays, blood transfusions, chemo or non-compartmentalized "acts of courage". We make special purple heart beads for the lucky ones who "graduate" from treatment and get to go home, as well as glass butterflies for the families who aren't as lucky who have children who don't make it. We also donate "acts of courage beads" which are art beads of all shapes and sizes.

These little Faux-das, as I call them are the special requests that once in a while pop up. I was happy to help and am hoping that the power of this old wise one will increase the little patient's chance to get through and become healthy again. Join me in my wishes. If you are a lampworker, please consider sending a few strays. If you are new to this great non-profit, please pop by their website. It is amazing seeing these children telling their medical story through their long chains of beads and how it helps in their treatment.

Wishing you health and happiness- and as always, great glass. See you tomorrow here at http://www.studiomarcy.blogspot.com

It's a Beads of Courage (BOC) weekend, here in Atlanta, Georgia.  Our Southern Flames glass chapter is having a beadathon at Beads by Design in Marietta.  Locally, two hospitals have over 600 patients in the BOC program who are children with cancer or a life threatening illness.  Geesh, that's way too many sick kids!

Carl Edwards, NASCAR race car driver and all around cool guy has become a hero to a lot of people in the program. Back in October, Carl visited the Aflac Cancer Center in Atlanta.  He met 5-year-old BOC patient, Dalton Kammer who gave Edwards his bead necklace to wear in his upcoming NASCAR race.  The necklace consisted of Dalton's name as well as special beads that he received for specific medical procedures.  It shows his medical journey through cancer treatment.  Edwards won that race and continued to wear it through the end of the season.  He won his last race and placed second overall for the season.  Each time, he pulled out the necklace from his fire suit and mentioned the Beads of Courage program and Dalton.  How can you not love this guy?

So hats off to the Beads of Courage Program, (donations happily accepted), the volunteers who donate beads and time, the young patients, their families and the wonderful medical providers who administer the program and treat the kids.

If you are a beadmaker and would like some tutorials for a few of the needed beads, visit our Southern Flames pages here.

And if you're in the Atlanta area, stop by and visit us this weekend, as we make beads for our program.  Directions are here.