Local glassworkers join forces to celebrate National Bead Challenge Day

Beads of Courage has worked for the past 10 years to provide a unique and innovative approach to help children who are dealing with serious illnesses find ways to cope.
 
To back the organization in its mission of providing arts-in-medicine programming, Tristate artists will gather at Brazee Street Studios Sept. 19 for National Bead Challenge Day. The event — hosted at 20 art studios across the country — is intended to encourage artists to produce one-of-a-kind designs that children who are coping with cancer and blood disorders, cardiac conditions, burn injuries and chronic illness, in addition to families with children in neonatal intensive care, can add to their collections.
 
“We’re proud to host this event each year and to know that the beads created make a difference to children undergoing difficult medical treatments and bring a smile to their faces,” says Chelsea Borgman, Brazee’s gallery coordinator.
 
The Beads of Courage program begins when a child receives a string in addition to alphabet beads to spell out his or her first name and continues as health care providers give him or her colorful new beads to mark treatment milestones.
 
Beads crafted at National Bead Challenge Day serve as particularly special additions to children’s beaded creations, as they’re reminders of their courage and perseverance throughout the coping process.
 
“These beads mean the world to children who receive them,” Borgman says. “It’s a way for these kids to show their strength and say to the world and themselves, ‘I did it!’”

Do Good: 

• Support Beads of Courage by donating.

• Attend National Bead Challenge Day at Brazee Street Studios in Oakley 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 19. There will be activities for children in addition to opportunities to write letters to children in the Beads of Courage program. 

• Connect with Beads of Courage on Facebook.