Sunrise Strong--Support Kids With Cancer
Donation protected
In 2011, Nick Swafford, an 8 year old second grader, was diagnosed with brain cancer, medulloblastoma. During his recovery from tumor removal, he told me "This is going to be life changing...But I'm strong."
For over a year, Nick endured brain/spine radiation and chemo therapy with stoic strength. Today, he is 2 years post treatment, and he is a healthy 11 year old, recent 5th grade graduate, who remains a CANCER FREE inspiration for all of us.
That's me, Susan, Nick's mom in this 5th grade graduation photo. I have 9 kids altogether. Nick is #6 and the first boy. I also own a women's and children's boutique in San Diego, CA named Mini & Me (www.miniandmeboutique.com) We host fundraisers several times a year to raise money and collect toys and comfort items for the oncology kids and their families at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. In November 2013, we hosted a holiday fashion show to assist a local radio show collect toys for the Rady's kids. We featured Rady's oncology patients and their moms as models, and we hope this can become an annual event that grows in popularity and community support over the coming years. (http://vimeo.com/81107802)
As a family and a business, we have been so inspired by our fundraising campaigns and opportunities to provide financial assistance and comfort items to the families in crisis due to childhood cancer battles that we founded the Sunrise Strong project. It is beyond heartbreaking to watch your child battle a life threatening illness and endure painful, sickening treatments. It's beyond cruel that so many of the families in our cancer community also live with extreme financial stress during this treatment period. Our family knows this story. We lived this. Because of Nick's illness, our family faced extreme financial consequences. Cancer and it's collateral damage caused the loss of our home. During Nick's treatment, we didn't always know where food money or even hospital parking fees were coming from.
Sunrise Strong is a one for one donation program. When someone purchases a blanket, hat, or headband, another like item is donated to an oncology patient at Rady's. We also accept donations of gift cards, money and comfort items for the parents. Some of the items we sell and donate are donated by local vendors, but most are either purchased by us or produced by us.
Supplies are expensive. Payroll for seamstresses is expensive. Rent for a space large enough to house a retail showroom, a workspace and craft room, and a storage area for our donations and online store is currently out of our reach financially.
We have two main goals for our Go Fund Me fundraiser:
1) Move our production, staging, and storage area out of my
dining room at home and office at the store. We are
tripping over bolts of fabric and bags of donations every
where we go! We need space in a professional environment
to collect donations, manufacture Sunrise Strong products,
and maintain a retail showroom. We need to put a deposit
down on this space and complete a build out to make the
space functional for our needs. And we need help raising the
funds to find, secure, and customize this new space!
2) We need more equipment...We believe strongly in both
keeping our team together and hiring/promoting from within
as well as hiring new employees from the local community.
As production demands increase, we want to hire local
seamstresses and craftsman to come to our workshop and
produce our Sunrise Strong products and donations. We
don't want to farm this work out to China...So we need
at least 2 more sewing machines and related accessories,
work tables, and chairs.
Ultimately, we would like to expand to cities all across the United States. Each retail location will donate proceeds and products to the local children's oncology unit at the local children's hospital.
As a business, Mini & Me has survived the worst recession in decades. As a family, we have survived the worst situation--brain cancer in a child. As a philanthropic organization, we don't just plan to survive...We plan to hope, dream, give and thrive!
Thank you for reading this story...having faith in us and compassion for families living with and battling against childhood cancer...And being generous with your love and donations.
Follow our journey on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sunrisestrong
For over a year, Nick endured brain/spine radiation and chemo therapy with stoic strength. Today, he is 2 years post treatment, and he is a healthy 11 year old, recent 5th grade graduate, who remains a CANCER FREE inspiration for all of us.
That's me, Susan, Nick's mom in this 5th grade graduation photo. I have 9 kids altogether. Nick is #6 and the first boy. I also own a women's and children's boutique in San Diego, CA named Mini & Me (www.miniandmeboutique.com) We host fundraisers several times a year to raise money and collect toys and comfort items for the oncology kids and their families at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. In November 2013, we hosted a holiday fashion show to assist a local radio show collect toys for the Rady's kids. We featured Rady's oncology patients and their moms as models, and we hope this can become an annual event that grows in popularity and community support over the coming years. (http://vimeo.com/81107802)
As a family and a business, we have been so inspired by our fundraising campaigns and opportunities to provide financial assistance and comfort items to the families in crisis due to childhood cancer battles that we founded the Sunrise Strong project. It is beyond heartbreaking to watch your child battle a life threatening illness and endure painful, sickening treatments. It's beyond cruel that so many of the families in our cancer community also live with extreme financial stress during this treatment period. Our family knows this story. We lived this. Because of Nick's illness, our family faced extreme financial consequences. Cancer and it's collateral damage caused the loss of our home. During Nick's treatment, we didn't always know where food money or even hospital parking fees were coming from.
Sunrise Strong is a one for one donation program. When someone purchases a blanket, hat, or headband, another like item is donated to an oncology patient at Rady's. We also accept donations of gift cards, money and comfort items for the parents. Some of the items we sell and donate are donated by local vendors, but most are either purchased by us or produced by us.
Supplies are expensive. Payroll for seamstresses is expensive. Rent for a space large enough to house a retail showroom, a workspace and craft room, and a storage area for our donations and online store is currently out of our reach financially.
We have two main goals for our Go Fund Me fundraiser:
1) Move our production, staging, and storage area out of my
dining room at home and office at the store. We are
tripping over bolts of fabric and bags of donations every
where we go! We need space in a professional environment
to collect donations, manufacture Sunrise Strong products,
and maintain a retail showroom. We need to put a deposit
down on this space and complete a build out to make the
space functional for our needs. And we need help raising the
funds to find, secure, and customize this new space!
2) We need more equipment...We believe strongly in both
keeping our team together and hiring/promoting from within
as well as hiring new employees from the local community.
As production demands increase, we want to hire local
seamstresses and craftsman to come to our workshop and
produce our Sunrise Strong products and donations. We
don't want to farm this work out to China...So we need
at least 2 more sewing machines and related accessories,
work tables, and chairs.
Ultimately, we would like to expand to cities all across the United States. Each retail location will donate proceeds and products to the local children's oncology unit at the local children's hospital.
As a business, Mini & Me has survived the worst recession in decades. As a family, we have survived the worst situation--brain cancer in a child. As a philanthropic organization, we don't just plan to survive...We plan to hope, dream, give and thrive!
Thank you for reading this story...having faith in us and compassion for families living with and battling against childhood cancer...And being generous with your love and donations.
Follow our journey on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sunrisestrong
Organizer
Susan Swafford
Organizer
San Diego, CA