If you’ve ever sold or specified our Glass Blox or Convergence collections, you have participated in funding of Helping Hands Grants! These grants give practical aid to those in our industry who are facing the struggles of breast cancer. Thank you for being a part of this worthwhile cause.
As this year comes to a close, we wanted to share an excerpt from The Common Thread newsletter written by Jane Berea, president of the foundation. We hope this information informs and inspires you as we continue to work together to make a difference.
“2021 was a gratifying year for the foundation in that we awarded $74,000 in grants to fifteen strong survivors in the United States and Mexico. These women were encouraged to contact the foundation by past grant recipients and by our wonderful supporting manufacturers. The women hailed from across the country, literally from Hawaii to Florida and Maryland. They also came from California, Nevada, Texas, Michigan, Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia.
One characteristic that can be seen in all these women is perseverance in the face of COVID. All were diagnosed during a time when doctor visits were carefully controlled and limited. Their daily radiation treatments and chemotherapy treatments were still required even with compromised immune systems. In some cases, COVID increased the length of their journey through breast cancer. An architect, and mother of two children under the age of five, received her first mammogram in 2020. She had been forewarned that due to her young age she may be called back for a follow up. Hopeful that the medical situation would improve, she made the decision to wait until 2021 for the follow up exam. Her life was fully occupied with the stress of working on a COVID driven reduction in salary, raising her children, and keeping them safe and healthy. When she went for the follow up mammogram, she was surprised to learn that she had breast cancer. Like many young women who have received grants, she realized that breast cancer does not care how old you are, or if you have a family history, or if you have the BRCA gene. This is her message to other young women. Like most of the women in their twenties and thirties who have received grants, she realized the life transformation brought by breast cancer can have some positive outcomes. She is blessed with the strength and the positive attitude needed to deliver this message as she moves forward in recovery.”
We donate a portion of proceeds from the sales of our Convergence and Glass Blox collections to fund Helping Hand Grants. Please consider these beautiful products for your upcoming projects in 2022!
