August 21, 2020, Fully Funded! What's Next?

Dear friends,

I cannot tell you how filled with gratitude I am for each and every one of you. We are all affected by this global pandemic, and many of us are dealing with wildfires or hurricanes on top of it. Thank you so much for your generosity during these truly trying times.

I am thrilled that the Kickstarter reached its goal, and — now my work begins.

This week I will put the finishing touches on the book cover, send the book out to the printer, and continue reaching out to hospitals. I plan to keep you updated through Kickstarter, and over on my website here.

Surveys 

Over the next few days, I'll be sending out surveys to all of you generous people, to find out more about what you'd like to do with your pledge. Please keep your eyes out for that! I plan to fulfill the orders for backers who ordered any of my currently available book + calendar kits as soon as possible.

A New Nonprofit

I am also thrilled that last week, our new 501(c)(3) nonprofit got the official go-ahead from the IRS! Last year, I made the decision to start a "sister" nonprofit for Mighty +Bright, with the purpose of helping families facing cancer communicate better. 

Resilience Campaign is now off the ground and will be distributing the What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer book + calendar kits, in addition to brochures to help families talk about cancer with their kids. 

We will be looking for major partnerships with companies looking to sponsor these kits, so if you know anyone who might be interested, please send them my way! Check out Resilience Campaign here > 

Thank you again, so much!

Sara

August 19, 2020, GOAL!!!

Last night something magical happened.

A while back, I connected online with a woman named Jillian, who is a survivor of acute myeloid leukemia, and a fellow mom. Jillian has a lot of followers on Instagram and an enormous heart. Last night she posted about the Kickstarter in her Instagram stories and gave it a huge endorsement: "I'd like to see this in every children's hospital around the country."

When she posted, we were about $350 away from the goal, and I started seeing pledges roll in. Every dollar counts, and soon we were $120 away from the goal.

And then, a woman named Michelle funded the last $120. I sent her a thank you through Kickstarter, and got a message back on Instagram. She said, "just funded the last $120! Our son had osteosarcoma in 2014/15 and 2019/20. He passed away this last January. But he would have LOVED to help other kids cope with illness. It is our honor and privilege to be a part of what you are doing."

I do not often find myself speechless (ha), but that did it.

This work matters.

I have kept so much of what I do close to my chest. For the last six or so years, I've created calendars and books because I've followed my intuition, and then I have done very little to launch anything, incorrectly feeling shy about putting myself out there.

Until now.

I should not have felt shy about "putting myself out there," because this is not about me. At no point have I done this alone. Each one of you has helped bring it to fruition.

This book started when Amy reached out through the Mighty + Bright website and asked me to create a calendar for kids with cancer, like her own daughter. It continued when Kristin told me how much the calendar would have helped her son, then took it upon herself to raise money to donate the calendars to her hospital. And when Sarah connected me with her Child Life Specialist, Eileen. And when my friends and family, and their friends and family, donated anywhere from $10 to $1,000 to get this book off the ground. And, when Michelle funded that last $120.

I did not do this alone. I did it with the help of families like Michelle's, and Amy's, and Kristin's, and Sarah's, and yours.

We, my friends, are fully funded!!!

This is not the end of the road, of course. My vision for this company is huge and the goal is to help as many families as possible.

The money from this Kickstarter will allow me to print more books and calendars, which means that the price for each one goes down. Which means I can donate more. On top of that, there are some hospitals who have the funds to purchase the book and calendar sets at a discounted price, which means I can fuel the company and get these to more kids.

Thank you so much for your help. I am blown away.

— Sara

P.S. There are still 49 hours left on the Kickstarter, and if you're willing to keep sharing, I would love it. The more money we raise, the more book and calendar sets we can get to kids who need them. Truly, thank you.

August 18, 2020, 2 days and 93% funded!