A Single Mum needs your help!!

I had a lengthy conversation with a single mum, who asked to be called "Laura". She is desperate for help.

We offered her emotional support until we would have the funding to help her financially. But she gratefully declined at the time.

This was a BIG learning for us and Christoph made a key distinction. When we helped Kathleen, we addressed her financial worries FIRST, which put her mind at ease, enabled her to relax more and focus on her healing. This opened her to the emotional support, knowing she could continue to feed and shelter her kids.

So, what's Laura's story?

Imagine you are a healthy, happily married mother with three beautiful young children. You are proud of your personal accomplishments, including a Masters Degree. You live a modest and financially responsible life.

Suddenly, the rug is pulled from underneath your feet without warning!

In the span of 5 years, you've been diagnosed with breast cancer, had a double mastectomy, received a full round of chemotherapy, over 45 radiation treatments, a hysterectomy, and were continuously weak from all the post cancer medication.

And it doesn't stop here... During this time, you suffered two car accidents, a painful divorce, you were a Hurricane Catrina victim in Louisiana (you had to move away from your kids to another state for several months to continue medical treatment), you lost your job (including medical benefits) as a result of these circumstances and accrued nearly US$50,000 of debt.

However, the bright side is that you were one of the lucky ones who found a job again after it was safe to move back into Louisiana. And being lucky means you are earning almost US$20,000 a year (despite the masters degree).

The most painful result is that your kids can only live with you 40% of the time because you now live in a bedsit (studio apartment) and work full time. Including your daily commute to work you are away from home over 60 hours per week. This means you're rarely home and when you are, you need to sleep and continue to heal. You couldn't even afford a babysitter for your kids if they lived with you.

You don't have enough money to cover basic household and food expenses - let alone to begin paying back the financial obligations you've accrued in recent years. And when you have your kids to stay, they all sleep in the bed and you sleep on the floor.

As much as you try to be positive, the prevailing worry is "Am I going to live long enough to see my kids turn 18?" and "Will my breast cancer come back even though I've taken all measures to prevent that?"

All you want to do is to be the loving, healthy and happy mother you were before - who nurtures and protects her children as moms instinctively do.

What meaning would you give this? How would you feel if your life, happiness, identity, children and well being were taken away from you and you were living on the edge physically, emotionally and financially? How could you see the positive in any of this?

Bouncing for Breast Cancer helps experience the positive in a seemingly impossible situation. Our mission grows out of a genuine love and caring for single mums whose diseases place their lives and their kids' lives precariously on the edge. Meeting them at that edge and gradually escorting them back to life and to their future, is the challenge and our call to action.

This single mom - OUR SISTER - is in need of YOUR HELP. Help us, help them and together we will sleep better tonight, knowing these moms and their kids are, too.

TO HELP LAURA, visit our website http://www.bouncingforbreastcancer.org/ and click on the donate button.

Thanks and God Bless

From my sister, Kathleen.

I received an email today from Kathleen. She shared with me a true story - a thoughtful and inspiring reminder that we are indeed "all in this together"

A few years ago, there was a story on the front page story of the SF Chronicle, about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a web of crab traps and lines.

She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line even tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralon Islands (outside the Golden Gate Bridge) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such a state, that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. A very dangerous proposition - One slap of the tail could kill a man. The rescue team worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers reported that she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each one of the team, one at a time, and nudged them, and pushed them gently around --- she thanked them. Some said it was the most beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you.

And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

love, Kathleen and Priscilla

B4B's Future is in your hands

I'm updating the blog with a few entries over June and into July. There's been a lot of cool stuff happening, heaps of learning and we want you to be up to speed...

I travelled from Australia to London in late May for meetings re: B4B. As such, I have spent the past two months sowing new seeds, watering them and being patient. As in life, these seeds grow roots beneath the earth, before breaking through to new ground. B4B has broken through to new ground!

Firstly, I must thank the dedicated team of supporters in London who have been patient with us in our growth and new season.

These are - Amanda Prosser (Public Zone), Geeta Tailor (Your Bloody Health), Pa Joof (Making it Happen Now), Heather Macrae (Venture Thinking), Callum Bridgeford (Energise for Life), Per Wimmer (Wimmer Space), Alistair Crooks (The Secret Combination), and friends and family.

I had a fruitful meeting with Paul Sacher of the MEND Programme (http://www.mendprogramme.org/) to understand how he started . He is a great guy who shows what's possible by helping children with obesity. He has successfully run the MEND programme as a social enterprise project for over 5 years.

This, in addition to other research, convinced us that the business form "social enterprise" is the way forward, and not becoming a charity. In addition, Gordon Brown likes social enterprises, too.

What is social enterprise?
Basically, it's a private company with social aims. B4B will run itself on a non profit basis, with all collected donations going to the cause (minus minimal admin costs). However, there may be a profit-making arm of the organisation which will feed its revenue to the cause as well -providing even greater financial help.

Why not a charity?
Bottom line is that whilst charities are very worthwhile, becoming one and maintaining its status requires lots of resources = time and money. We decided early on that the majority of our resources should be invested towards those who need it - not in administration, paperwork, salaries, i.e. high overhead costs.

Above all, we do not see ourselves in competition with the existing Breast Cancer charities. We understand the needs of a specific group - single mums with kids - and are offering financial, emotional and wellbeing support. As such, we may partner with those charities in raising awareness for both, emotional support and research for all those affected by breast cancer, not just single mums and their kids.

How can you help?
We need seed funding and a team in London to help moms that need support NOW because they are in desperate circumstances (see Laura's appeal). email us at info@bouncingforbreastcancer.org

Making this distiction towards our organisational form gave clarity and was the critical step in identifying how we actually structure ourselves and build a strategy to reach our outcome.

I boarded the plane exhausted - yet euphoric and satisfied that I acheived what I set out to do in 5 days. I've not had this clarity since the day I began this personal campaign for my sister in Feb 2006. This mission is the single most fulfilling and challenging thing I've done in my life and I am totally committed to the cause. It's one of the reasons why I get out of bed in the morning. I think of those moms who have first contacted us for help. They inspire me, along with Kathleen. I also honour those few single moms who have passed away in the meantime.

As we taxied down the runway for takeoff, tears of gratitude ran down my face. We are one step closer to helping moms with breast cancer and their kids.

Thank you, all for believing in us... for believing in them! What's most important is that the quality of these lives will be improved by removing the obstacles that cause emotional and financial distress so they can focus on healing, recovery and being a family.


with love, priscilla