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Stockings for Strength 2019

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My name is Whitney Setterdahl and I am a recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to attending U of I, I attended high school at St. Joseph-Ogden. The summer before I began college, I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. As an eighteen year old, the news broke my heart and began a battle I never imagined I would engage in. Since that day, I have received three negative cancer scans, meaning I am officially in remission! However, if you ask me, my battle is far from over.

As a cancer survivor, I feel a deep and necessary passion to improve the lives of every other cancer patient in any capacity I can. As a teenager in the cancer unit, I often felt confused and out of place between the pediatric oncology department and adult oncology department. My goal is to make every other teen feel understood and as though they can still be themselves. I want to preserve their normalcy and provide them a smile!

As a huge fan of the entire Christmas season, I felt the most guilt imagining spending the beautiful holiday in a hospital bed, instead of at home surrounded by friends and family. And from this, Stockings for Strength was born!

For the fourth consecutive year, I am raising money for teens battling cancer at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Donating money through this GoFundMe will directly fund the purchase of fun and cheerful stockings to be hand-delivered to teenagers battling cancer this holiday season. 

Please consider donating! Even a single dollar or two will contribute to a smile for someone who deserves it the most.

If you would rather contribute some items you pick up yourself or would like to coordinate a group contribution, please contact me at [email redacted].

Thank you for hearing my story and Merry Christmas!

Organizer

Whitney Setterdahl
Organizer
Ogden, IL

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