WORLD BEADS OF COURAGE DAY - SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

If you’re familiar with Beads of Courage, you already know about our mission to support the most courageous kids on Earth – children coping with cancer and other serious illnesses.  Now, it’s time to tell the whole world about our work and showcase YOU, our honored members, families, clinicians, supporters, donors and friends.

World Beads of Courage Day (WBOCD) takes place during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which is also our Bead Challenge month!  We have many activities planned for September and invite you to be a part of this Global Celebration of Courage.

On September 15, Carry a Bead and post a pic on social media using the hashtag #beadsofcourage!  Let’s raise awareness of Beads of Courage and all the amazing warriors we support!  If your photo includes a Beads of Courage member, please have them wear their beads if possible!

World Beads of Courage Day "Carry a Bead" Bundle ($15)

CARRY A BEAD ON WORLD BEADS OF COURAGE DAY: 

Get your WBOCD Carry a Bead Bundle now and carry your bead on September 15!  The bundle includes an exclusive WBOCD Carry a Bead kit along with a FREE Courage Clip with heart bead and logo bead, and FREE full-color WBOCD sticker.  We want to see people carrying beads all over the world!  Please post a pic on social media with your Carry a Bead and tell us where you. The bead you carry and return will be given to a child receiving Beads of Courage. You keep the matching bead, Courage Clip, sticker and Team BOC charm with our thanks! 

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World Beads of Courage Day T-Shirt Bundle

If you ordered this awesome World Beads of Courage Day T-shirt, post a pic on social media wearing your shirt on September 15 with the hashtag #beadsmakeitbetter

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#BEADSMAKEITBETTER … AND YOU MAKE IT POSSIBLE!

BEAD CHALLENGE 2019:  Be part of our annual fundraiser and beadraiser for Beads of Courage!  Support our mission with an online donation or visit an Open Studio event near you to see glass artists making beads at the torch.  Your donation can also help us complete our awe-inspiring Column of Courage!  Visit www.bocbeadchallenge.org to learn more.

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DESIGN CHALLENGE 2019:  On September 15, we will launch an online auction for some amazing jewelry pieces designed exclusively for Beads of Courage using rainbow beads made by beloved glass artist Jeannie Cox.  Follow BOC on social media for updates! 

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR FRIENDS IN ARIZONA

SEPTEMBER 2:  ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS GAME IN PHOENIX – We are incredibly grateful to the Arizona Diamondbacks for providing 250 tickets to the Labor Day game versus the San Diego Padres.  These tickets are exclusively for Beads of Courage families and are available at no cost to you!

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SEPTEMBER 13:  OPEN STUDIOS UNDER THE FULL MOON – You're invited to The Metal Arts Village Tucson for Open Studios Under the Full Moon!  Enjoy live music, food and beverages, and an opportunity to see the artists' studios and artwork firsthand. Visit Beads of Courage HQ to purchase your World Beads of Courage Day bundles for September 15.  This event is free and open to the public!

SEPTEMBER 15:  IMPACT FASHION SHOW – Impact your style and your community at the 2nd Annual IMPACT Fashion Show benefiting Beads of Courage.  The show is being held at the beautiful JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson!  The runway will highlight award-winning Tucson designers, including the Fall Collection of Laura Tanzer and the Gala Collection of Arturo Valenzuela, along with Stein Mart fashions for every occasion.  Food, drinks, entertainment, raffle prizes and more.  Tickets available now!

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Join Beads of Courage and our wonderful supporting studios for the following Bead Challenge Open Studio events in Arizona.  Watch artists making beautiful glass beads over an open flame, choose a handmade bead to sponsor for a child receiving Beads of Courage, and much more! 

• SEPTEMBER 7, 10 AM - 5 PM:  The Melting Point, 1449 West State Route 89A, Suite 1, Sedona

• SEPTEMBER 21, 10 AM - 5 PM:  Sonoran Glass School, 633 W 18th St, Tucson

• SEPTEMBER 28, 10 AM - 5 PM:  Southwest Art Glass, 2036 E Thomas Rd, Suite 1, Phoenix

Team from Roche Participates in Polymer Bead-Making Class

Many thanks to members of the Roche team in Tucson for taking part in our polymer bead-making classes!

"Recently, I was looking for a volunteer opportunity and became aware of Beads of Courage. After finding out more about the positive impact these handmade beads have on children, I looked into the bead-making class, which my husband and I took and enjoyed. 

"I then shared my experience with my work team and together we decided to participate as a team-building event. Roche Tissue Diagnostics encourages community outreach and we saw this as a great opportunity to give back. 

"After our team did the bead-making, we thought our larger work group (more than 100 people) would also enjoy this type of activity. With leadership approval, an event was organized at our offices and we made over 400 beads!"

Ashley Streator
Research Associate
Roche Tissue Diagnostics, Tucson
A Member of the Roche Group

Support Beads of Courage on Arizona Gives Day, Tuesday, April 2!

Arizona Gives Day is Tuesday, April 2. This 24-hour day of online giving helps Arizona-based nonprofit organizations like Beads of Courage raise funds to support our critical mission.

We need your help on Arizona Gives Day to raise $5,000 in 24 hours! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 2 and donate online at: 

www.azgives.org/beadsofcourage

You can donate anytime during the 24-hour period on Tuesday, but you may want to donate between 2-3 pm during our POWER HOUR. The organization that has the most unique donations of $25 or more during that hour will receive a bonus $1,500 cash prize!

Your donation on Arizona Gives Day helps us get Beads of Courage to kids like Foster, pictured here, who depend on beads to help them get through all the tests, treatments, and procedures they must endure in their fight for life. 

Foster was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2016, just a few weeks after his 4th birthday. His mom recently shared a photo of Foster getting a chest x-ray with the hashtag #beadsmakeitbetter.  

She tells us, "Foster will try his best to get through anything, knowing he will be able to get another bead! The beads really do have an immense positive impact, not only on Foster, but our entire family.

"When Foster has a difficult and painful 'poke' experience, he looks forward to choosing his Courage Bead and it helps him be strong and brave. A child life specialist comes, the tears dissipate, and smiles arrive as he carefully chooses his special bead."

Please give generously on AZ Gives Day ... because for kids like Foster and more than 60,000 others we support, beads really do make it better.   

March 2019 Bonus Bead Recipients

Team Beads of Courage Member Karts Huseonica Announces Plans for 2020 Expedition

We're excited to announce that Team Beads of Courage member Karts Huseonica will be carrying Beads of Courage again on a record-setting expedition next year, along with his teammate, Lauren Sherwood.

The Yukon 2020 expedition requires Karts and Lauren to canoe the length of the Yukon River, an eight-week journey involving challenging currents, late-season ice flows, inclement weather, and dangerous wildlife.

In 2018, Karts carried Beads of Courage when he set the record as the oldest person, at age 68, to hike the entire length of the Arizona Trail and back again.  The rugged 800-mile trail traverses Arizona vertically from Utah to Mexico.   

Read more about the pending expedition in Karts' press release below, and follow our Team BOC Facebook Page for more Carry a Bead pics, stories and updates!

Press Release – Immediate

YUKON 2020 Expedition

 Record-setting Attempts on the Yukon River

(Phoenix, Arizona, USA, February 11, 2019) Phoenix area resident Art “Karts” Huseonica, 68, will embark on an expedition to canoe the length of the Yukon River starting mid-June 2020. His eight-week journey will include challenging currents, late-season ice flows, inclement weather, and dangerous wildlife.

He has a number of adventures to his name, including a record-setting Death Valley traverse, a modern era record-setting Amazon River expedition, and he’s the oldest person  

to yo-yo the 800-mile Arizona National Scenic Trail. If he is successful on this expedition he will be the oldest person at 69 to accomplish this remarkable feat in a canoe.

Mr. Huseonica will be joined by teammate Lauren Sherwood, 24, of Prescott, Arizona. Ms. Sherwood is an experienced adventurer and has worked as an outdoors educator and in the off-road industry. She has solo-traveled extensively in Mexico and completed the arduous 52-Hike Challenge in 2016. If she is successful on this epic endeavor, Ms. Sherwood will be the first documented female to canoe the Yukon River source-to-sea.

For the next 16 months, the team will be planning, training, and formulating their resupply plan. In the Yukon Territory their outfitters will be Up North Adventures. In Alaska, Mr. Huseonica and Ms. Sherwood will rely on Horst Expediting for emergency resupply and for transportation coordination at the end of the expedition.

The Yukon River is one of the greatest rivers in the world, stretching 1,980 miles from deep in the Yukon Territory of Canada, through the state of Alaska, emptying into the Bering Sea. During the Klondike Gold Rush, the river was the primary means of transportation for supplies and gold prospectors.

SPOT LLC will be providing emergency communications, a publicly accessible GPS track, and text capabilities that Mr. Huseonica and Ms. Sherwood can use for Facebook, Twitter, and phone.

Expedition sponsors include: ArmaSkin, Wild Zora Foods, Epic Wipes, SoulCare by CCC, and Honey Bunchies Gourmet Honey Bar. Mr. Huseonica and Ms. Sherwood will be wearing Beads of Courage to provide encouragement to children facing serious illnesses.

Media, photo, and sponsor inquiries please contact:

Art Karts Huseonica 

443-254-5730

arthuseonica@gmail.com  

http://twitter.com/karts999 

http://www.instagram.com/kartshuseonica/

http://www.facebook.com/arizonianexplorer

http://arizonianexplorer.wordpress.com/

Beads of Courage Bead Artist Hall of Fame Inductees

The Beads of Courage Bead Artist Hall of Fame was established in February 2013 during the 10-year anniversary celebration for Beads of Courage, Inc.  The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to recognize the contributions of bead artists in support of the mission of Beads of Courage, Inc.  

2018 Beads of Courage Hall of Fame Inductees

Steven Bay

Sioux George

Jesse James

Sarah James

Marcia Kmack

Joy Munshower

Sara Oehler

Stephanie Sersich

Andrew Thornton

Shannon Vickers

Stephanie White

2017 Beads of Courage Hall of Fame Inductees

Katie Baum

Terry Bendt

Ann Dehoff

Vicki Gentry

Melissa Fitzgerald

Lezlie Foster

Katie Hacker

Hannah Kiresuk

Jessica Rutherford

Caroline Saxon

Alexandra Spinglaschell

2016 Beads of Courage Hall of Fame Inductees

Debbie Brodsky

Kendra Bruno

Sandy Gross

Terry Hale

Jackie Marr

Susan Matuszek

Donna and Craig Milliron

Shauna Mitru

Eileen Robbins

Barbara Sosna

Kelli Sweet

Renee Wiggins

2015 Beads of Courage Hall of Fame Inductees

Andrew Brown

Carol Crye

Bronwen Heilman

Marjorie Langston

Angie Ramey

Heather Roscoe

Heather Sellers

Margie Shanahan

Ali Vandergrift

Lewis Wilson

International Partners in Caring Inductions:

BOC Canada

Rae Parry

BOC UK/Be Child Cancer Aware

Laney Mead

Jolene Wolfe 

2014 Beads of Courage Hall of Fame Inductees

Dawn Ceccacci

Nanette Chariff

Deanna Chase

Donna Conklin

Dorie Guthrie

JC Herrell

Rashan Jones

Kiersten Kern

Patricia Lakinsmith

Julie Levitt

Glenda Long

Michelle Pearson

Jessi Ryelin

Annmarie Stanesa

Eunissa Yancey

2013 Beads of Courage Hall of Fame Inductees

Lillie Bavendam

Elizabeth Bunn

Nikki Carollo

Cheryl Cobern-Browne

Jeannie Cox

Penny Dickinson

Jean Donaldson

Lori Greenberg

Kathryn Guler

Mallory Hoffman

Sara Sally LaGrand

Marcy Lamberson

Wendy Leys

Becky Mason

Kevin Masiulis

Deborah Mayne

Maureen McRorie

Sharon Peters

Victoria Plouffe

Diana Rast

Carol Saker

Kris Schaible

Robert Simmons

Debora Sims

Raychel Stein

Katie Stuart

Diane Woodall

Corri Dawn Young

Ginger Young

Margaret Zinser

Beads of Courage El Tour Cycling Team - Apparel Sneak Peek!

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