H.O.P.E

Signature Handmade is supporting Life Changes Foundation this October with Breast Cancer Awareness Month with these limited addition 'HOPE' Bracelets for only £2! If you wish to purchase one of these lovely bracelets please contact signaturehandmade@outlook.com.

IT'S HERE....

Breast Cancer Awareness month is here! We have two fabulous ladies running a half marathon for Life Changes Foundation next week. If you are doing anything for Breast Cancer Awareness then we want to hear from you! You can let us know all about what you are up to via our Facebook Page. We want to see your photos and all of your PINK PERFECTNESS!

TAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS....

In our last post we told you about the Charity Tattoo, Kristi Harrison, founder of Life Changes Foundation was getting in support for Katie Morris Kyser and for Life Changes. Well....here it is! The tattoo says 'If we could make a place where we could sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors' and the pain was well worth it!

TAT THAT CANCER!

Some people like to say Thank You with a nice card, bunch of flowers or some lovely chocolates but Life Changes Foundation's Kristi Harrison is going beyond that and getting TATTOOED for charity. Kristi is raising money for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice. Thorpe Hall hospice provides specialist palliative care improving the quality of life for those living with, or affected by, a serious illness.

Kristi is also doing this for Katie Kyser. As Katie continues to fight against Stage 4 Breast Cancer she is doing so with such strength and grace. I know this tattoo isn’t going to cure Katie but I’m sure its going to make her smile! And this is just my way to say Thank you....Its not enough, it will never be enough but Thank you for making the world, my world that much better just by being apart of it. 

If you would like to donate and support Kristi please click the link here.

THANK YOU

"Saying ‘thank you’ is one of the easiest and loveliest ways to lift someone’s spirits. There’s pleasure in valuing and being valued. And, of course, there’s also the joy of compounding. No, not the dodgy store card kind where a bad pair of shoes can end up costing a million times more if you don’t pay off the balance, like, now, but in that the more fabulous qualities we appreciate in those around us, the more fabulous qualities we notice."

Make Me Joyful  is a wonderful, wonderful site filled with such loveliness and each month you can nominate someone for a special Thank You. Back in March I nominated the very special Katie Morris Kyser and earlier this week I was told Katie was going to be April's Thank You feature. Yay!
You can read Katie's Thank You here and while you are there why not nominate someone you know for a 'Thank You', believe me its worth it.

T.SHIRT ARTWORK

We can now reveal the new artwork for our official Life Changes T Shirts. The artwork was designed by the wonderful and very talented Christie Powers. 

Christie is a photographer, illustrator and typographer and you can check out more of Christie's work from the sites below.

www.deathlyhigh.com

www.cargocollective.com/pwrs

www.pppowers.tumblr.com

SOULPANCAKE

Juli Palmer was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She's a proud mother of 5 children, photographer, and wife. She looks at her diagnosis as a gift from God to give her this purpose in life. As a long time photographer - She's now capturing memories.

Juli's video is part of a series by Soulpancake, titled My Last Days. Soulpancake is a wonderful, inspirational site that writes about the things that matter, the BIG questions in life. There are five videos in this series and each and every one of the videos are inspirational, uplifting and reconnects you with the things that really matter in life. 

You might need the tissues!

THE FAITHFUL FIGHTERS

If you know my name, you know my tale,
You know my husband, and you know my sweet Kayle.
You know in November 2010 I got some bad news,
I was in for a battle I was not planning to lose.

Cancer had decided to grow in my Breast,
I had chemo, a double mastectomy, radiotherapy and fought with the best.
The stinking cancer came back last year,
I felt many emotions, including panic and fear.

My diagnosis is Metastasized, Stage 4,
But I will fight and fight, then fight some more.
I get through with the help and support of so many,
I fight with strength inspired by plenty.

The last few years of my life have been all about fun,
And laughter and 'firsts' and getting things done.
Another 'first' I've decided to do with some friends,
Will contribute to bringing Breast Cancer to an end.

Over 3 days, we will be walking 60 miles,
Camping in pink tents and producing lots of smiles.
We will walk around Seattle to raise lots of money,
Hoping and praying it's nice and sunny.

Here's where you come in, would you please get involved,
And donate some money to get this problem solved.
'Why should I donate?', I hear you ask,
Because fighting this disease is a scary task.

Please use this website to read and give,
Give, so many more can survive and live.
Please support me and help me raise more,
And on Breast Cancer, we can shut the door!

Katie and some of her friends are taking part in the Susan G. Komen 3 day challenge. You can show your support to these inspirational ladies by donating anything you can. You can read more about the challenge, Katie or the other ladies on the blog here. You can also visit their blog, The Faithful Fighters.

CANCER, WE'RE COMING TO GET YOU

Every year thousands of women hit the streets, roads, pavements and parks to take part in the largest women only event, Race For Life. Life Changes Foundation has taken part before and this year will be no different. We will don our best pink attire and run with pride. We will run for the all survivors, fighters and all those who fought with everything they had.

You can run, walk, jog or even dance your way to the finish line. However you want to cross that line, sign up here and join the pink posse. You will be inspired, amazed and in awe of the thousands of women coming together for one reason, to help beat Cancer!

WE NEED YOUR HELP....

This is Nicole, Nicole is a dear friend of Katie Morris Kyser. Nicole has been battling breast cancer for over two years. The conventional treatments seemed to work, but unfortunately the cancer has now quickly spread to her lungs. The prognosis is not good as the cancer has been rated as Stage 4 and it is too late, and she is too weak, for further chemotherapy.

After long and arduous research an alternative has been found, and it's an alternative that has a very high recovery rate for cancer patients at such a late stage. But, as can only be expected, it's expensive.

Nicole's family are asking friends and people who know Nicole for some small help with meeting the costs of this treatment. If you feel you are in a position to help, anything would be enormously appreciated. If not, just some happy thoughts sent in her direction will be equally gratefully received.

You can donate HERE and really anything that you can give will be greatly, greatly received by Nicole and her family.

Thank you!

IT'S CANCER'S TURN TO BE AFRAID

READ ALL ABOUT IT....

Our latest letter is from Scotland's Director of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Audrey Birt! Yep that's right, I said Director. We contacted Audrey Birt after we came across her blog and we were delighted when she agreed to take part in the 'Dear 14 Year Old Me' project. Audrey has experienced Breast Cancer first hand and writes about her experiences over at Audrey Birt Blogspot.

I know I write this a lot when we receive more and more letters but it really means such a lot to us. We appreciate that each and every letter is special and unique so we thank you for allowing us to read an insight into your lives.

WHO ARE YOU STANDING UP FOR?

Today is World Cancer Day and Life Changes Foundation is standing up for Katie Morris Kyser.

Who are you standing up for?

Visit World Cancer Day to find out about dispelling myths and misconceptions about Cancer and I am sure that you have heard some of these before. World Cancer Day focuses on these four myths and getting the truth out there.

MAKE ME JOYFUL....

Make Me Joyful does exactly what it says on the tin (or blog in this case) I could try to describe the loveliness of this site but Cheryl, the creator explains it way better than I ever could; 

"In our hearts we know that life is supposed to be more than so-so, but all too often we feel stuck, disconnected and overwhelmed. We tell ourselves that we want more but we barely have the energy to get to the weekend, let alone figure out where we’re going in life. We put our heads down and get on with it: teeth gritted on the tube, heart sinking at work and feelings lukewarm in love. On the surface we have everything, but underneath it feels like we have nothing at all.

This makes me sad. In fact, it breaks my heart.

I believe that big dreams aren’t just for other people, that true love isn’t the preserve of the silver screen and that when you smile, the whole world really does smile with you.

I believe that people should be cherished, manners should be minded and that anyone can be cheered by a handwritten note.

I believe that life can be joyful."

I contacted the creator of Make Me Joyful Cheryl, to see if she would like to be apart of 'Dear 14 Year Old Me' and to our delight she agreed.

You can read more about the Make Me Joyful Manifesto here.

Life Changes Foundation was featured on Make Me Joyful alongside Cheryl's letter. This is probably the nicest thing anyone has written about us. 

One of the things I am loving most about the Joyful Revolution is the chance to connect with so many wonderful people. Every tweet, email and letter (yay!) that I’ve received has made me so incredibly happy. It’s also confirmed what I hoped to be the case: that the world is full of people who want to live big, joyful lives and who are excited to meet others who feel the same. Oh you guys.

Lest I get too carried away with pink, fluffy, joyful love for you all, I’m going to change the subject to cancer. Nothing pink and fluffy about that. One of the emails I recently received was from Kristi, a 22 year old lady who has set up the Life Changes Foundation to raise awareness about breast cancer and to support her friend who is currently suffering from it. Without wanting to sound like a patronising, maiden Aunt, how fabulous is it that a 22 year old has had the spirit to set up a foundation? Kristi is currently asking people to contribute ‘letters to their 14 year old selves’ and she asked me to write one too. Obviously when it comes to writing letters I don’t need asking twice, particularly when it’s for a project like this.

 You can read the feature and check out more of Make Me Joyful here. 

MAKE A WISH....

We have added a new little something to our product line. Meet the new additions....
Our string bracelets come with either a silver ribbon or silver star. Our ribbon charm has the words 'HOPE' engraved on one side. You can now buy our bracelets on eBay. We have FREE postage and packaging and worldwide shipping on all of our products. Click here to head over to eBay to purchase a bracelet.

READ ALL ABOUT IT....

We are very happy to share with you our latest letter. This letter was written by Rachel MacDonald. Rachel is the creator of In Spaces Between, a site filled with such inspirational loveliness and a space we have been following for a couple of years now. We contacted Rachel to see if she would like to be apart of our project and we were so delighted when she agreed to write a letter. In Spaces Between has been featured in Australia's Gold Coast Magazine and Rachel has been tipped as one of the 15 bloggers to watch in 2013. 

READ ALL ABOUT IT....

This letter was written by Don Kerr, creator of the blog Riding Shot Gun. Don very kindly featured us and the project on his blog. You can read the feature and more about Don's story here.

IT'S OFFICIAL

Our Official wristbands are now on SALE! Our wristbands are embossed on both sides, 'Life Changes Foundation' on one side and 'No One Fights Alone' on the other. They come in two sizes, medium and large. The medium is actually quite big and from the responses that we have received the medium will fit most sized wrists. There is no additional costs with any of our products with all items having FREE postage and packaging and can be shipped worldwide. If you want to purchase our wristbands visit our eBay page here.

BUMPY BOOBS....

I knew I would get your attention with that post title. Bumpy Boobs is a wonderful site created by a lovely lady called Catherine. I contacted Catherine a while ago about being involved in the letter project and contributing a letter and to our delight she said yes!

When Catherine featured us on her blog, she wrote this:

"Kristi’s concept of Life Changes is really interesting, particularly since ‘new normal’ and losing the person we were before diagnosis is often discussed online. The fact is, life changes – we cannot go back and for me, before engaging in Kristi’s project, ‘back there’ was a place of innocence lost and reality biting very hard

But if I cling to who I was before diagnosis, it makes me sad about who I became immediately after. I guess that’s because the experience held was more physically and emotionally painful than anything I’d ever dealt with in my life. And once felt you can’t go back, so I prefer to look forward and punch things out occasionally. But then Kristi challenged me with the project she’s leading that focuses on writing letters to your 14-year-old self. She asked if I would get involved by writing a letter."

Reading this certainly made us very happy and realising that you can get more out of writing a letter than literally just putting pen to paper. Although this project and the idea of writing letters to ones younger self is not totally unique and has been done before, that doesn't matter. I wanted to create this project as a form of self expression that may otherwise not been expressed. This project is about spending a small amount of time just being and reflecting. We all have stories to tell and that is what makes each and every single one of the letters that we receive unique.  You can read Catherine's letter here on our Facebook Page. 

READ ALL ABOUT IT....

We have been trying to spread the word about the 'Dear 14 Year Old Me' Project and we have been in contact with some wonderful and inspirational people during this quest. We  recently received a letter from a lady, Sondria Browne. Sondria Browne is the author of sondria.blogspot.ca.

Our project was featured on her blog alongside her letter. You can read more about Sondria and her story here. We are very lucky that we have people like Sondria who are willing to get involved in our project and to pass the word on about Life Changes Foundation.

Dear 14 Year Old Me....

If you had the chance to say anything to your fourteen year old self, what would you say? If you had that opportunity would you give yourself advice? guidance? warning? about what lies ahead or just provide a few comforting words to your younger self.

Life Changes Foundation launched a project, 'Dear 14 Year Old Me' in September 2012 and we have had a great response to it thus far. Our letters have been written by a number of different people, from different walks of life and different professions. All the letters we have received have been written from the heart with many a kind word and with one thing in common, to enjoy life. To appreciate every moment, moments that you didn't think were that momentous but when you look back they were actually the times that made you who you are today. 

You can read a few of the letters below but there are many more over at our Facebook Page. 

Each and everyone of us have a story to tell and we would love to hear yours. If you would like to write a letter to 'Dear 14 Year Old Me' we would be honoured to read it. If you would like to write a letter and are happy to have your real name included then that is great if not you can write an anonymous letter. Again, you can contact us through our facebook page or send us an email at lifechangesfoundation@hotmail.com

NEW YEAR, NEW RIBBON

The colour pink has become synonymous with Breast Cancer awareness, especially the pink ribbons but here at Life Changes we wanted to create something a little different. We came up with these pink textured ribbons. Each charity/foundation/cause, needs a signature, something that you can look at and it be instantly recognisable. We have had some really good feedback about our ribbons but what do you think? Would you wear it? 

Our ribbons are just one of the products that we have created and hope to get them out to as many people as possible. We would love to see you wear our ribbons proudly. If you would like to know where you can get one please get in touch with us. 

You can contact us on our Facebook Page 

or 

Email us at lifechangesfoundation@hotmail.com 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Life Changes Foundation's Official website is still 'under construction' so we are here at blogspot for a while. When the Official website is up and running we will still keep this site for updates, pictures and lots in between. 2013 is going to be a good year for Life Changes, we have a few exciting projects underway and we will hopefully be launching a few products for our Official merchandise.

So, as we start enter a whole New Year we thank you for all your support since we launched last September and with your continued support we know Life Changes Foundation can help make a difference.