One dreary day after finishing a long day of Taxol chemo in 2018, I came home to a package addressed to me from HallieStrong. I did not recognize them name at the time, but now it’s a name I’ll never forget. Opening the package, a postcard fell to my lap and it read a sweet note about how a previous boss of mine nominated me for this care package filled with socks to brighten my day, to keep fighting, to never loose hope and to stay strong. In the care package, there was a pair of socks with cherries on them, and one with a Christmas socks. Three pairs in total. The care package touched my heart and brought light on a day filled with so much darkness and exhaustion. On that day, I promised myself that I would pay it forward for Halliestrong.
Halliestrong is a non for profit organization that sends care packages all over the US to cancer patients, sending them hope and joy with socks and post cards full of love. Family members and friends can nominate a cancer patient on their website (no proof needed of cancer) and Halliestrong will mail the package to the patient — with love, joy and care all fill in the care package, socks included.
After I received this care package, I knew I had to continue helping this amazing organization young in its success. Every October, I host a sock drive, collecting socks for Halliestrong to send to patients (adults and kids) in their care packages. Even at my mom’s bakery, we went a step further, taking proceeds from Pie Sales and donated them to Halliestrong.
For me, socks aren’t just about keeping a cancer patient’s feet warm. I want every cancer patient possible to receive this joy and amazing surprise that I did. It’s such a simple act that no one has to do, but HallieStrong does it and others volunteer to host incredible sock drives to help cancer patients. It’s the warm fuzzy feeling of opening that care package, the feeling of putting on those socks and knowing that miles away we are loved. There is love and care still in a dark world and on dark days of chemo, scan, anxiety, hard news, mental health, rough side effects and so on, there is still beacons of hope. Halliestrong brings that hope in socks via care packages.
Every cancer patient that I know in my life, I’ve nominated to get a care package on Halliestrong. Every October, I host I sock drive, so that even a little bit of help of helping more patients goes a long a way. Every chance I have, I vocalize supporting this amazing charity that supports all kinds of cancer patients, with no proof. It supports adults and kids and they even hand out socks at hospitals.
There are ways to help Hallistrong in simple matters. I helped write warm fuzzies to put notes on pairs of socks — song lyrics, notes of inspirations, cute drawings, stickers, anything that would bring a smile, I also volunteered my time to help hand out socks at my local hospital wing to cancer patients — over 300 pairs of socks! I had my coworkers at ALDI write hand written notes of love to each pair of sock and we taped them to the socks. Then the day that I had to go in for my infusion, I handed out pairs of socks at the infusion center.
Lastly, I hope all cancer warriors can feel some amount of love and support like the way that Halliestrong and socks do. Maybe it’s a care package, or a sweet card, or maybe it’s a life saving treatment. Love and support is what cancer patients really can use during these dark days.
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