Lydia Network
Where women coping with cancer are not alone
Fall 2010
Visit Lydia on the web
www.thelydiaproject.org
Left, Aquinas High School Students, Lydia
Volunteers, and Fort Gordon Soldiers bag
25,000 white craft bags and tea lights at a
SAT workday at Aldersgate United Methodist
Church in Augusta, Nov 6th. IKEA of Atlanta
generously donated 25,000 tea lights for
Lydia’s 5th Annual Lights for Lydia.
Lights for Lydia - Lydia supporters in the Central Savannah River Area can join
others in collective support and awareness of
women coping with cancer. Lydia Luminary
Kits are on sale for $10 each throughout November and will be delivered by December 10th
for the community lighting Saturday evening,
the 11th. Each kit contains candles, sand, and
white craft bags to light ten luminaries. There is
no limit to how many Kits individuals can buy.
For more info, to buy a kit, or to help out, call
the agency at 706.736.5467.
Lights for Lydia is a premier fundraiser that illuminates the CSRA as a beacon
of hope to those battling cancer and commemorates loved ones lost. Financial sponsors already this year are Augusta Plastic Surgery; Alice David MD; ET Industrial Supply;
Judson Hickey DMD; Bipin Chudgar MD in
memory of his beloved Daksha; Medical College of Georgia Cancer Center; and A. Stephenson Wallace, Attorney. These sponsors’
generosity and luminary sales keep Lydia’s
services free.
Left, North Augusta Middle School Beta Club
students help out at the Nov 6th work morning. Over 45 youth, Soldiers and Lydia volunteers made the morning a breeze!
Lights for Lydia 5K Run/Walk - Join others for the Lights For Lydia 5K Run/Walk. The route will begin and end
at The Lydia Project, and travel through Summerville, one of Augusta's most beautiful and historic neighborhoods. This 5K is
held the morning of Lights for Lydia, an event in which individuals across the Augusta area will light thousands of luminary
candles from their homes and businesses in support of women coping with cancer. Each Race participant will receive a long
sleeve t-shirt, as well as a luminary kit so they may also partake in the evening Lights for Lydia. Register by November 29th at action.com. Inquires: Contact Stacy at 706.627.3868 or [email protected].
Around the Nation - Volunteer Sewers in Washington State
Left,
Mary
loves
sewing
Lydia
totes.
Daphne, smiles as she
irons Lydia handles.
Caryn, expertly sews a tote.
It started with a volunteer in Aiken, South Carolina who
loved to sew for Lydia. When Judy Wentz’s husband transferred
to Washington state, Lydia sewing kits were on the moving truck.
Since arriving in Washington, Judy has received monthly
kits and sewn Lydia totes, retail bags, and recruited friends to sew,
too. This growing ministry on the opposite end of the nation now
includes recruitment of a sewer’s son-in-law who generously pays
Above, Lydia friends who have been sewing
for shipment of the volunteers' completed totes from his company to
in Washington state for Lydia since last
Lydia in Augusta.
spring: Back Row - Nancy Rayner, Bev
A phenomenal example of the outreach, recently Judy and Reginbal, Judy Wentz, and Front row
twenty-four friends attended Quilt Retreat. During those five days Marilyn Sollers, Mary Garoutte, Tillie Smith,
three boxes of sewing were filled for Lydia. The boxes arrived with and Jane Hagarty.
75 Lydia totes, three retail bags sewn, and almost 700 tissue holders
sewn. The Washington friends also included pocket some size tissue and note cards. The total volunteer hours for
the shipment was 235.5 hours.
Currently Volunteers sew and ship Lydia totes every month from their homes in Arizona, Delaware, Montana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Washington state, and of course from Georgia. Correspondence Volunteers write encouraging notes monthly from as far as California. The Lydia Project is proud of
volunteers’ efforts locally and nationwide. For more information on volunteering from anywhere in the nation contact Lydia’s Director of Volunteers, Ms. Shelly Olmos, locally 706.736.5467 or toll free 1.877.593.4212.
“I met someone, at a
quilt retreat, in
Yakima, WA, who
told me of your
wonderful outreach.
I am going to share
this with Yakima's
Wellness House for
cancer patients.
Bless All of You”
-June (WA)
Page 2
Left, the entire
Washington
group of
friends, Binding Friendships, who
kindly sew for
the women
Lydia serves.
God bless each
of you.
Rewarding
Opportunity for
Volunteer Sewers
Experienced sewers love volunteering for Lydia!
Volunteering couldn't be easier -tote kits are provided with material/pattern already
cut and ready to sew any time
in the comfort of home.
•
•
Lydia fills and distributes the completed totes
to the women Lydia serves.
Find out why volunteers love sewing for Lydia,
Locally or from any where in the nation!
For more information call 706.736.5467
or toll free 1.877.593.4212 or visit www.thelydiaproject.org
At The Lydia Project, women coping with cancer are not alone.
Page 3
When Young People get Involved….
Augusta Christian Schools placed purple collections boxes in classrooms for Lydia 10/2529/2010. In one week youth collected:
•
2,582 gallon size bags for the Lights fundraiser campaign.
•
2,502 pens for totes.
•
114 tubes of lotion for totes.
•
240 stamps for mailing encouraging notes.
•
1,140 assorted Note Cards.
•
$55 in Wal-Mart gift cards; and $15 in cash.
•
And a purple candle, devotional books, hand
sanitizer, bookmarks and booklets - all
placed in a basket women select from when
visiting Lydia for services.
This phenomenal collection happened under
the direction of
Head of School, Dr.
David Piccolo and
the kind coordination of Ms. Cheryl
Downing, College
Guidance Counselor. Dr. Piccolo
also came up with another idea to
support Lydia. He allowed students
to wear hats one day for a $1 donation and teachers and staff wore
jeans with purple one day for a donation of $2. The outcome: a total
of $315.19 for the women Lydia
serves.
To learn
more
about
Augusta
Christian
Schools
visit
augustachristian.org/ .
God bless Augusta Christian’s
leadership, faculty, students and
parents. You make a difference.
“I am a student
and cannot afford
much. I am very
grateful for your
sending this bag
to my mom .”
-Pauline (CA)
Requestor
The Ultimate Ride & Fitness is not just a place one can fight the good fight
and win! It is also a place that gives extraordinary support to the women Lydia
serves.
In October the business sponsored the Ultimate Spin-a-thon benefiting The
Lydia Project. The event raised a astonishing $4,008 dollars for Lydia!! The
business’s efforts also raised awareness of Lydia’s free services for women
coping with cancer.
If you are looking for a place with no contracts, no joining fees, a first class
that is free, and the only fitness rowing venue in Augusta, Ultimate Ride is the
ultimate in caring for people, community, and the women Lydia serves.
Did You Know?
•
As of 10/31/2010 Lydia
received and served 5,120 •
new referrals of women
coping with cancer...this
year.
Lydia has added the follow- •
ing new Partners who are
distributing Lydia totes to
Women Coping With Can- •
cer:
Page 4
•
Baptist Medical CenterBeaches, Jacksonville, FL
Baptist Medical CenterDOWNTOWN, Jacksonville Beach, FL
GHS Cancer Education
Center, Greenville, SC
Center for Primary Care,
Dewey Gray Circle,
Augusta, GA
Karen's House of Hope,
Brunswick, GA
•
North Mississippi Medical Center, Tupelo, MS
•
ST. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, MD
•
ST. Marys Regional Cancer Center, Grand Junction, CO
•
South Florida Radiation
Oncology "SFRO-Palm
Beach Gardens",
Palm Beach, FL
•
West Virginia
University Hospital-East, Martinsburg, WV
•
Willis-Knighton
Cancer Care Center, Shreveport,
LA
Shop Online for Lydia!
Gas prices, convenience, and increasing offers
of free shipment are a few of the reasons consumers are
increasingly shopping online.
An additional 2.5 million U.S. shoppers will log on to the Net this holiday season to
bring overall online sales revenue to more than $18 billion, according to a new prediction
from Forrester Research.
Lydia supporters taking advantage of online sales can shop at their favorite retailers
and benefit Lydia when orders are placed.
GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each
purchase to shoppers’ favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target,
Gap, Best Buy, eBay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop.com. It is
easy to support Lydia while shopping online.
Here’s how easy your (and your family & friends’!) online shopping can benefit Lydia:
1. Go to Goodsearch (google the “Goodsearch” or type in http://www.goodsearch.com/).
2. Enter “The Lydia Project” under ‘who do you goodsearch for?”
3. Scroll down to Goodshop.
“This program
is such a ray of
sunshine in a
time of grey days
and long nights!
Thank you
angels for
putting smiles
on our
faces :) .”
-Stacy (MI)
Requestor
4. Type in the store name.
5. Shop!
When You Want
to Give the Best
It is a known fact Lydia has the
best seamstresses. Did you know Lydia
offers several varieties of beautiful
handmade, one of a kind signature
purses made from designer material?
The Lydia Project was
featured in 2009 Best of
Augusta, topping off
third place of readers’
choice of best charity.
Thank you voters!
Purses range from small to large
enough for a laptop, and of course,
Lydia’s signature Pricilla bags. With
dozens of designer fabric and trim combinations you're sure to find just the
right fit for that woman who has everything.
Lydia also offers handcrafted,
unique bible covers in two sizes, as well
as a retail line of jewelry and handmade
scarves.
Lydia is also an outlet for
Chicken Soup for the Soul books that
include stories from author and Lydia
Co-Founder Amy Breitmann. F o r a
unique gift that conveys love stop by the
shop at Lydia M-F 9-3or visit us online
at www.thelydiaproject.org. All proceeds benefit the women Lydia serves.
Above, 2009 Lydia Intern LaKeesha
Grant stands ready to assist a shopper at
Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church’s
2009 Fall Mission Festival. Lydia can set
up a sales table at your place of worship
or community event!
Page 5
In Support of Women Coping with Cancer
For every $10 lotion purchased/donated
to The Lydia Project -- Outdoor Hands donates a second tube.
Donation purchases can be made:
Online at www.outdoorhands.com/
•
•
At 318 Baston Road, Ste 103,
Augusta, GA 30907
Inquiries? Call toll free 866.880.1915
Outdoor Hand’s goal: to provide enough
specially formulated lotion for all women Lydia serves in 2011
Thank you
Outdoor Hands for being the first national product to carry the Lydia logo!
Lydia 2010 Calendar
November 13
“Lights for Lydia” Work Day, 9am – 2pm at Monro Moving and Storage Company, 1809
Wylds Road, Augusta, GA 30909.
“Evening of Jazz for Lydia” 10pm, at Surrey Tavern the Augusta Tradition, 471 Highland
Ave, Augusta, GA 30901.
Aveleigh Presbyterian Church, Cutting/Sewing/Writing Day, 9am – 12pm, in Truesdell
Hall (Fellowship Hall), 1211 Calhoun St., Newberry, SC 29108. Inquiries call 803.276.3534.
November 13-14
Lewis Memorial Women’s Retreat, Lydia retail, Hickory Knob State Park, McCormick, SC
November 17
Branums Sewing Day, Wednesday, 9:00am-4:00pm, Branum's Sewing & Vacuum Center,
3230 Washington Rd, Augusta, GA 30907. Inquires call Ann Wood 803-652-8000.
November 20
Earlewood Baptist Church, Cutting/Sewing/Writing Day, 9am – 12pm, 2930 River Drive.
Columbia, SC 20201.
December 7
Lydia Board of Directors – meeting 6:30pm, at the agency, (Executive Board 6:00pm).
December 7-10
Luminary pick up at Monro Moving and Storage (address above). Picking up on the 9th?
Stop by Lydia for refreshments and fellowship, too!
December 9
Lydia Open House, 2501 McDowell Street, Augusta, GA – 11:00 am – 1:00 pm. Refreshments and fellowship.
December 11
“Lights for Lydia” 5K Run - 9am, at The Lydia Project
“Lights for Lydia” Community lighting - after darkness, throughout the CSRA
December 15
Branums Sewing Day, Wednesday, 9:00am-4:00pm, (address above).
Join The Lydia Project for prayer Thursdays, 9:30a.m., at the agency.
Page 6
Read inside for updates, news, and more …
5th Annual Lights for Lydia
1
Augusta, GA 30904
Lights for Lydia 5k Run/Walk
1
Office: 706-736-5467
Toll Free: 877-593-4212
Fax: 706-736-5142
www.thelydiaproject.org
Washington state - in support of Lydia
2
Augusta Christian Schools - Amazing Youth
4
2501 McDowell Street
Faith Partners:
Carole Fabrics
Ultimate Ride & Fitness - Ultimate Support of Lydia 4
Shop Online for Lydia
5
Fall Lydia Calendar
6
At The Lydia Project, women coping with cancer are not alone
Community Foundation of the CSRA
Creel-Harison Foundation
Hille Foundation
Monro Moving and Storage
Outdoor Hands
Phoenix Commercial Printing
Powerserve International
St. Joseph Foundation
The Augusta Chronicle
The Knox Foundation
Thrivent for Lutherans
Trinity on the Hill UMC
Women in Philanthropy
“Your prayers were more than money could
buy. My husband and I could not have gotten by
without them. My prayers will always be for everyone who takes the time to be part of The Lydia
Project. We are doing well and will continue to
have treatments for cancer. My husband has
been very sick from his treatments and I did
have surgery this summer. We are going to
make it. We are standing on God’s promise.
Thank you all so much. Our prayers are with
you.” -Joyce (SC) Recipient
“Thank you so
much for keeping
in contact with me.
Your phone calls
and letters help me
feel so much better
during this hard
journey and I
wanted you to
know how much
your thoughts and
prayers are appreciated.”
- Christine (GA)
Recipient
Youth made a tremendous difference Saturday, Nov 6th, at the Lights Work Day at Aldersgate United
Methodist Church.
Page 7