Juliana got her hands on chocolate during the drive to our little photo shoot yesterday. Needless to say as much ended up on her pants as in her tummy. #momlife for ya!
As I shared on Instagram a few weeks ago, something on my heart as my blog has grown is using this new platform to give back. I am so thankful for each of you and the community we have built together floors me every single time I think about it. And I realize that within our community I have a voice- and with it a responsibility to give back. To do good. To make the world a better place.
While Fifteen Minutes to Flawless was born to share tips and inspiration in the realm of fashion and beauty I want to go beyond that today and talk about an organization that has become near and dear to my heart.
At my last job my co-worker had a son diagnosed with leukemia when he was 3 months old. Mitchell was a fighter and endured more than any child should have to go through. At our unit meetings his dad would update our team on how Mitchell was doing as he went in and out of remission. Shortly before Mitchy turned two, the leukemia came back in bad way and Mitchell went in for chemotherapy. During this round his immune system was supressed and complications set in. A few days later I got a call that Mitchell was in heaven. I went to his celebration of life the following week and there are no words to describe the pain I saw on his mom and dad’s face that day. In the months afterwards, I would see Facebook posts from Mitchell’s mom and how she couldn’t wait to be reunited with him in heaven. Thinking about them still brings me to tears.
As a mom, I can’t image what Mitchell’s mom and dad went through. No parents should have to experience that and no child should ever, ever have to go through what Mitchy did. I started reading about pediatric cancer and was surprised to learn it’s the #1 disease killer of children in the US.
Not long after, I found out about Cookies for Kids Cancer. Cookies for Kids is an organization committed to raising funds for research to develop new, improved, & less toxic treatments for pediatric cancer. Cookies for Kids was started by Larry and Gretchen Witt in 2007 when their son Liam was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Since its inception, Cookies for Kids has funded 100 childhood reasearch grants leading to 37 new treatments and clinical trials for children fighting childhood cancer as we speak. Simply put, Cookies for Kids is in the business of saving children’s lives and that’s something I want to support.
I reached out to Cookies for Kids Cancer to ask about partnering to share their cause with our community. As God would have it, right while I was doing this I started working with Kendra Scott. When I met with Kathryn at my local Kendra Scott in January, she mentioned Kendra Scott has an organizational focus on giving back. The light went off and I asked her if we could host an in-store event to bring awareness to Cookies for Kids. Kathryn loved the idea so I checked with Allie and Sarah, my contacts at Cookies for Kids.. They were just as thrilled!
Together we made it happen and I’m excited to share that on April 7th we’ll be hosting a fundraiser for Cookies for Kids at the Kendra Scott here in Charlotte. Here’s the detail:
Date: Sunday, April 22nd (updated date!)
Time: 12pm-2pm
Location: Kendra Scott, 440 Sharon Road, Charlotte NC
Complimentary champagne and sweets
20% of all in-store purchases will be donated back to Cookies for Kids Cancer
I’ll be there for the full event and would love to to meet you. Bring a friend and let’s do this together!
If you don’t live in Charlotte I have a fundraising page with Cookies for Kids here. The Cookies for Kids’ website has other ways you can support too..my personal favorite? The snickerdoodle cookies I’m sharing here with Juliana.
Please let me know if you have any questions on Cookies for Kids or the event on April 7th. I can’t wait to see you!
Love always,
Terra
P.S. This post isn’t about fashion, but some of you will ask where I got the top I’m wearing and you can find it here.