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Beads of Hope
One nurse has touched the lives of thousands of sick kids through a simple but powerful idea.
Jean Baruch, a pediatric oncology nurse, was good at hanging IV bags and checking vital signs, but she had a harder time helping her young patients deal with the emotional effects of having cancer. "I wanted to encourage them to express their pain and fear, but I didn't know how," she says. "It was very frustrating." She discovered a solution while working at one of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang summer camps. The camp, which hosts children and families coping with cancer and other
serious illnesses, gave Baruch unique insight into how kids play. She
noticed that campers of all ages love beading. They spend hours making
necklaces and bracelets, then trade or share them with friends and family. "The kids wear the beads for days at a time, even in the shower," she notes. "It seems to make them feel good." Hoping that beads could cheer up young cancer patients in hospitals the same way they do at camp, Baruch founded Beads of Courage in 2004. Children who participate in the program receive colored beads that represent milestones, procedures, and acts of bravery. For instance, they get a yellow bead for an overnight hospital stay, a white one for chemotherapy, and a glow-in-the-dark bead for radiation treatment. It's not uncommon for children to amass 10, 20 -- even 35 -- feet of beads. It helps young patients track and celebrate their progress, but it also gives them a way to get through upcoming procedures, says Gwendolyn Possinger, the coordinator of Children's Memorial Hospital's Beads of Courage program in Chicago. "A child facing another needle can look at his beads and realize that he made it through before so he can do it again," she says. Today the nonprofit organization supports more than 10,000 children in 60 hospitals in the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and Ireland and is funded exclusively by private donations. With the help of participating hospitals, Beads of Courage is also constantly evolving. Baruch and her team have expanded the program to include many conditions and diseases. They also focus on other ways the arts can help families dealing with a serious illness.
The program has been invaluable to children like 9-year-old Rena Miller, of Chicago, who underwent treatment for leukemia that included frequent spinal taps and chemotherapy. When she was rushed to the hospital at midnight a few years ago, she had one consolation: She would get two beads for bravely enduring her hospitalization. The new beads joined hundreds of others on 10 long strands that represent her three-plus-year fight to beat cancer. "Rena reads her beads like a book," says her mother, Danya Miller. "She presents them with pride: 'This is when I first learned how to swallow pills,' for instance. It's a simple but powerful way to remember our journey." Jean Baruch, a pediatric oncology nurse, was good at hanging IV bags and checking vital signs, but she had a harder time helping her young patients deal with the emotional effects of having cancer. "I wanted to encourage them to express their pain and fear, but I didn't know how," she says. "It was very frustrating." She discovered a solution while working at one of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang summer camps. The camp, which hosts children and families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses, gave Baruch unique insight into how kids play. She noticed that campers of all ages love beading. They spend hours making necklaces and bracelets, then trade or share them with friends and family. "The kids wear the beads for days at a time, even in the shower," she notes. "It seems to make them feel good." Hoping that beads could cheer up young cancer patients in hospitals the same way they do at camp, Baruch founded Beads of Courage in 2004. Children who participate in the program receive colored beads that represent milestones, procedures, and acts of bravery. For instance, they get a yellow bead for an overnight hospital stay, a white one for chemotherapy, and a glow-in-the-dark bead for radiation treatment. It's not uncommon for children to amass 10, 20 -- even 35 -- feet of beads. It helps young patients track and celebrate their progress, but it also gives them a way to get through upcoming procedures, says Gwendolyn Possinger, the coordinator of Children's Memorial Hospital's Beads of Courage program in Chicago. "A child facing another needle can look at his beads and realize that he made it through before so he can do it again," she says. Today the nonprofit organization supports more than 10,000 children in 60 hospitals in the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and Ireland and is funded exclusively by private donations. With the help of participating hospitals, Beads of Courage is also constantly evolving. Baruch and her team have expanded the program to include many conditions and diseases. They also focus on other ways the arts can help families dealing with a serious illness. The program has been invaluable to children like 9-year-old Rena Miller, of Chicago, who underwent treatment for leukemia that included frequent spinal taps and chemotherapy. When she was rushed to the hospital at midnight a few years ago, she had one consolation: She would get two beads for bravely enduring her hospitalization. The new beads joined hundreds of others on 10 long strands that represent her three-plus-year fight to beat cancer. "Rena reads her beads like a book," says her mother, Danya Miller. "She presents them with pride: 'This is when I first learned how to swallow pills,' for instance. It's a simple but powerful way to remember our journey."
The Beads of Courage® Program is available for the following:
serious illnesses, gave Baruch unique insight into how kids play. She
noticed that campers of all ages love beading. They spend hours making
necklaces and bracelets, then trade or share them with friends and family. "The kids wear the beads for days at a time, even in the shower," she notes. "It seems to make them feel good." Hoping that beads could cheer up young cancer patients in hospitals the same way they do at camp, Baruch founded Beads of Courage in 2004. Children who participate in the program receive colored beads that represent milestones, procedures, and acts of bravery. For instance, they get a yellow bead for an overnight hospital stay, a white one for chemotherapy, and a glow-in-the-dark bead for radiation treatment. It's not uncommon for children to amass 10, 20 -- even 35 -- feet of beads. It helps young patients track and celebrate their progress, but it also gives them a way to get through upcoming procedures, says Gwendolyn Possinger, the coordinator of Children's Memorial Hospital's Beads of Courage program in Chicago. "A child facing another needle can look at his beads and realize that he made it through before so he can do it again," she says. Today the nonprofit organization supports more than 10,000 children in 60 hospitals in the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and Ireland and is funded exclusively by private donations. With the help of participating hospitals, Beads of Courage is also constantly evolving. Baruch and her team have expanded the program to include many conditions and diseases. They also focus on other ways the arts can help families dealing with a serious illness.
The program has been invaluable to children like 9-year-old Rena Miller, of Chicago, who underwent treatment for leukemia that included frequent spinal taps and chemotherapy. When she was rushed to the hospital at midnight a few years ago, she had one consolation: She would get two beads for bravely enduring her hospitalization. The new beads joined hundreds of others on 10 long strands that represent her three-plus-year fight to beat cancer. "Rena reads her beads like a book," says her mother, Danya Miller. "She presents them with pride: 'This is when I first learned how to swallow pills,' for instance. It's a simple but powerful way to remember our journey." Jean Baruch, a pediatric oncology nurse, was good at hanging IV bags and checking vital signs, but she had a harder time helping her young patients deal with the emotional effects of having cancer. "I wanted to encourage them to express their pain and fear, but I didn't know how," she says. "It was very frustrating." She discovered a solution while working at one of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang summer camps. The camp, which hosts children and families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses, gave Baruch unique insight into how kids play. She noticed that campers of all ages love beading. They spend hours making necklaces and bracelets, then trade or share them with friends and family. "The kids wear the beads for days at a time, even in the shower," she notes. "It seems to make them feel good." Hoping that beads could cheer up young cancer patients in hospitals the same way they do at camp, Baruch founded Beads of Courage in 2004. Children who participate in the program receive colored beads that represent milestones, procedures, and acts of bravery. For instance, they get a yellow bead for an overnight hospital stay, a white one for chemotherapy, and a glow-in-the-dark bead for radiation treatment. It's not uncommon for children to amass 10, 20 -- even 35 -- feet of beads. It helps young patients track and celebrate their progress, but it also gives them a way to get through upcoming procedures, says Gwendolyn Possinger, the coordinator of Children's Memorial Hospital's Beads of Courage program in Chicago. "A child facing another needle can look at his beads and realize that he made it through before so he can do it again," she says. Today the nonprofit organization supports more than 10,000 children in 60 hospitals in the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and Ireland and is funded exclusively by private donations. With the help of participating hospitals, Beads of Courage is also constantly evolving. Baruch and her team have expanded the program to include many conditions and diseases. They also focus on other ways the arts can help families dealing with a serious illness. The program has been invaluable to children like 9-year-old Rena Miller, of Chicago, who underwent treatment for leukemia that included frequent spinal taps and chemotherapy. When she was rushed to the hospital at midnight a few years ago, she had one consolation: She would get two beads for bravely enduring her hospitalization. The new beads joined hundreds of others on 10 long strands that represent her three-plus-year fight to beat cancer. "Rena reads her beads like a book," says her mother, Danya Miller. "She presents them with pride: 'This is when I first learned how to swallow pills,' for instance. It's a simple but powerful way to remember our journey."
The Beads of Courage® Program
our main program defined
Every bead tells a story of strength, honor and hope.What is the Beads of Courage Program?
The Program is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen children and families coping with serious illness. Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path.
how it works
Upon enrollment each child is given the Beads of Courage bead color guide with a detachable membership card. Their Beads of Courage journey begins when each child is first given a length of string and beads that spell out their first name. Then, colorful beads, each representing a different treatment milestone are given to the child by their professional health care provider to add to their Beads of Courage collection throughout their treatment as determined by the Beads of Courage Bead Guide (available from Beads of Courage, Inc.)The Beads of Courage® Program is available for the following:
- Cancer and Blood Disorders
- Cardiac Conditions
- Burn injuries
- Just launched in November 2010: Neonatal ICU Families
- Coming in Summer 2011: Beads of Courage for children coping with a chronic illness.
major benefits
Ongoing evaluation of the Beads of Courage program indicates that the program helps to decrease illness-related distress, increase the use of positive coping strategies, helps children find meaning in illness, and restore sense of self in children coping with serious illness. The program also provides something tangible the child can use to tell about their experience during treatment and after.tools training support
Beads of Courage, Inc. provides all hospitals the necessary program materials accompanied by education, training and support to implement the Beads of Courage Program.- On-site training for staff that covers research and the science behind psychosocial interventions
- Procedure and alphabet bead collections
- Handmade one-of-a-kind treatment milestone beads
- Program literature (training manuals, membership bead guides and more)
- Ongoing support for the staff during the longevity of the program
sponsorship
Beads of Courage, Inc. believes strongly in collaborating with local non-profits, local businesses and private donors to provide the Beads of Courage Program at their community hospital. The Program Sponsor or Donor supports the program financially. Beads of Courage will seek sponsorship of your program if desired. If you are interested in learning more about how to become a Program Sponsor, please contact Colin, csmith@beadsofcourage.org.contact
If interested in the Beads of Courage Program please contact our Program DirectorColin Smith, RN csmith@beadsofcourage.org
creative courage journal
a way to express
Creative outlet for children coping with the traumatic effects of a serious illness.Creative Courage Journal Program Includes a colorful, interactive journal with writing and art activities that help the child to reflect upon their accomplishments while providing a distraction from related treatments and procedures. The journal is accompanied by 25 unique beads that are distributed with their own trading card, and referred to in the journal as the bead collection.
Referring clinicians will also be given a selection of handmade, one-of-a-kind glass beads to honor and acknowledge every CCJ participant during their treatment journey. These Act of Courage beads are donated to Beads of Courage by artists from around the world. There are special pages in the CCJ where each Act of Courage bead can be documented and described by your child during their treatment.
Includes:
If your organization is interested in sponsoring Creative Courage Journals for children coping with serious illness in the Beads of Courage Program please contact:
- Journal
- 25 Trading Cards
- 25 Unique Beads
contact
Liz McPeak
Beads of Courage thanks the generous support received to date from Kiwanis and State Farm Insurance in supporting children with serious illness through the Beads of Courage Creative Courage Journal Program.
Glass
Beads of Courage programs depend on donations of all kinds of handmade beads. Thank you for your donations!
Guidelines for Glass Beads:
- Do not use reduction glass, frits, powders or enamels that leave a metallic surface on the beads.
- Any size or shape is acceptable.
- Preferred hole size is 3/32" and larger (1/16" holes are accepted).
- The inside of the bead should be free of bead release.
- No sharp corners, sharp edges on the bead holes, cracks or protrusions that would easily break off, including hearts with long, delicate tails.
- Beads must be fully kiln annealed.
- Please remember that these beads are worn and handled by children and should be sturdy enough to stand up to wear and tear.
How to Donate Beads
Mail donations to:
Beads of Courage 10501 E. Seven Generations Way Suite 161 Tucson, AZ 85747
Print and fill out bead donation form and send with your beads.
- Please do not send or directly deliver your beads to member hospitals. All beads must be inspected, logged and packaged at Beads of Courage headquarters.Your beads are important to us. Please be sure to package securely!
- Any size or shape is acceptable.
- We like bright colors!
- Preferred hole size is 3/32�
- No sharp corners or edges or, cracks or protrusions that would easily break off.
- Please remember that these beads are worn and handled by children and should be sturdy enough to stand up to wear and tear.
- Print and fill out bead donation form and send with your beads.
- Please do not send or directly deliver your beads to member hospitals. All beads must be inspected, logged and packaged at Beads of Courage headquarters.
How Glass Art Beads are Used
Act of Courage Beads
Handmade glass beads are used as Act of Courage beads. Children choose from this selection to acknowledge special milestones, a particularly rough time or for instances not on the regular bead guide.
Heart Beads
Red Heart beads are used in our cardiac program.
Direct questions to Robert Simmons, Director of Bead Donations rsimmons@beadsofcourage.org
Polymer Clay
Guidelines for Polymer Clay Beads
How to Donate Beads
Mail donations to:
Beads of Courage 10501 E. Seven Generations Way Suite 161 Tucson, AZ 85747
Please do not send or directly deliver your beads to member hospitals. All beads must be inspected, logged and packaged at Beads of Courage headquarters.
Your beads are important to us. Please be sure to package securely!
How Polymer Art Beads are Used:
Polymer beads are featured beads in three of our main programs:
Polymer beads are also very popular at our fundraisers and events where participants create their own art-in-medicine inspired pieces.
Direct questions to arts@beadsofcourage.org
Other Beads
Manufactured Beads
Beads of any color and shape are greatly appreciated. Beads of Courage utilizes all donated manufactured beads in our four Arts-in-Medicine Workshops:
Warrior Figures
Honoring Boxes
Dream Intention Flags
Strength Bracelets.
In addition, manufactured beads are used in finished pieces that are sold or auctioned at our fundraisers.
Please mail donations to:
Beads of Courage 10501 E. Seven Generations Way Suite 161 Tucson, AZ 85747
Direct questions to arts@beadsofcourage.org
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