Hi all! Today I have an extra special treat for you guys. One of my good friends Kristen is the Charleston representative for Headband of Hope. Now I had never heard of this organization before she mentioned it to me but wow is it awesome. Keep reading to find out more about it and as icing on the cake she is offering the promo code "charlestonhope" in order to receive $1 off your order. Please read and go check out these adorable headbands. These would make excellent Christmas gifts for the ladies in your life and they support such an awesome cause!
Chance, Change, and the Power of Headbands
By Kristen Stoltz
Hope. What is it? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? I never really thought about this question, like really thought about this question until I was faced with a tragedy.
Most of you who know me well know that I lost my mother very suddenly and unexpectedly a few years ago. At the age of 25, that tender age of a woman when she begins to come into her own, I was lost. For the better part of a year, my father and I stumbled through our daily routines, basically defeated by life. They say that the opposite of hope is despair, and that was all we knew.
The turning point for me was a culmination of several things. Firstly, one of my dear friends sent me a care package of books about loss and grieving which I read with fervency. Reading about how other people had gone through things like I had, and things worse than I had, began to ground me and get me out of my own head. Secondly, another great friend forced me to start going out again and made me be social. Staying by my side wherever we went in case I had a moment, and I was taken out of my bubble that grief had created. But slowly and surely, I began to laugh and smile again. Things slowly started to appear brighter, albeit a duller brightness, and I started to find happiness in my world again.
When I first heard about Headbands of Hope, I thought, what a great and sweet idea. They donate one headband for everyone sold to a little girl with cancer, and 1$ of the profit to St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a childhood cancer charity that funds research to find cures for children with cancer. And the headbands (and buffs, and hats!) are incredibly cute, functional and versatile. Pure genius.
But the more I read about it, and followed what Jessica Ekstrom, (you can read more about here her!) the founder and CEO was doing, it touched me on a deeper and more personal level.
These children have encountered a tragic situation, as have their families. They have every reason to live in a world of despair. But they don’t. They have people like Jessica standing beside them.
These headbands to them are like my box of books. Like my friends that stood by me literally and figuratively. They bring back smiles and laughter, to those who thought they would never see the beauty in something again.
These headbands initiate a flicker of hope…of a wish, desire, expectation, that this disease can end.
That these little girls are still beautiful inside and out regardless of the side effects of their treatments.
That these children can get better, will get better, and that one day no child will encounter this disease.
That complete strangers are pulling for them, and rooting for them.
That is what these headbands have the power to do.
But what is truly inspiring about Headbands of Hope, is that it forces others to define what hope is to them. It has shown the enormity of change, however small, and that we as individuals really can make a difference.
I know now that we have the ability to overcome terrible obstacles but we can’t do it alone. We need family, friends, even strangers, and we definitely need hope.
My hope now is this: that we learn to take a chance, make a change, make a difference. And that we live fearlessly.
To learn more, please check out Headbands of Hope here, and the new Headwear of Hope which provides head wear for little boys with cancer here!
Kristen is a representative for Headbands of Hope in the Charleston, South Carolina area…you can visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/HeadbandsOfHopeCharlestonSc
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