Beads of Courage
Although I don't watch it very often, I caught CBS News Sunday Morning the other day -- it's a great show, actually, that profiles little capsules of pop culture that are generally very fascinating. One of the stories this past Sunday really captured my heart.
It's a non-profit organization that uses beads to help children cope with the treatment that comes from the serious, life-threatening diseases that they are facing. The children collect the beads for each treatment they undergo, and each side effect they struggle with, and assemble jewelry that they can wear. Jewelry that they wear as a badge of survival and as a sign of hope and a signal of strength. As one little girl said, they are not beads of courage but rather "beads of life."
It's a tremendous organization that really helps these kids and their families cope, and you have to completely respect that. From the looks of their website, it looks like a lot of people do. The site is fully functioning with complete listings of all their programs, ways to contribute and shop, corporate sponsors like NASA and AFLAC, and inspirational stories on their blog. Plus all the social media outlets known to our generation.
It's clearly a well run organization of very committed people doing very good work -- work that inspires young people to keep up the good fight and get healthy again.
If you are in healthcare or kids marketing, you should consider supporting this amazing organization. As a parent, I would appreciate it!
What's your experience? Jim.