April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. As the Founder/Director of DiepCFoundation I dedicate this blog to celebrate volunteers working for the breast cancer community. These are the people who through their unwavering spirit of volunteering make a huge difference in the work and mission of the Foundation.
Global Volunteers Spreading Awareness
Having established the Foundation in 2016 I reflect on a wide network of people across the world who are spreading awareness about all options for breast reconstruction for those facing mastectomies.
Corporate giving and corporate social responsibility come in various forms. Benevity is a global platform managing corporate giving. My work with the companies that use Benevity has reached global volunteers and donors. I make yearly presentations at our local Microsoft campus. The individuals who attend these meetings have shared their time and talent volunteering to bring awareness to the services and support we provide. Volunteers at AT&T did a 349 km run across Slovakia to raise funds to help us continue to provide education and support.
There are countless surgeons, healthcare professionals, and patients who have shared their time, expertise, and lived experiences to make educational videos and podcast interviews with me. I get excited each time I do one knowing it could positively change the trajectory of a patient’s decision or a technique a surgeon will use to improve patient safety and outcomes in breast reconstruction and breast cancer treatment.
Bringing Shared Experiences from Volunteers
I often mention the private Facebook group that I opened in 2015. This was even before I established my nonprofit and I have watched it grow and develop. Constant changes in social media platforms make it challenging to administer such groups and build positive online support. Who is better than survivors to assist with these challenges? The members provide understanding and empathy and a different perspective that cannot be as fully replicated by healthcare professionals.
Real stories provide realistic expectations for preparing, recovering, and moving beyond a diagnosis and surgery. I work with four breast cancer survivors as the admins of my group. They carefully vet members, answer questions, and two are assigned an entire day to “work the Journey” as I refer to it as, by giving their time so I can tend to the business side of my nonprofit. What a true gift!
Volunteers Rolling Up Their Sleeves to Provide Access to Support and Care
Whether we meet in person or online, we build community, strength, and hope. Volunteers have in-person and online fundraising events. They make it is possible to continue the work we do together as part of the DiepCJourney Foundation community of volunteers. This year, two of the women served by the Foundation rolled up their sleeves and had local fundraisers. They were fun to participate in! The fundraisers increased awareness of the importance of community and self-advocacy by setting a shining example of what volunteers efforts can do.
A Shout Out to my Board of Directors!
A nonprofit organization is run by the Board of Directors. I cannot do what I do without them. We meet throughout the year working together to make the Foundation better for our community. They are volunteers providing guidance, helping with event planning, and more. Thank you to this team of strong women! I lean on you heavily for advice and assistance running DiepCFoundation and the services we provide. You make it all worthwhile!
Celebrate Your Volunteers
I invite all who run nonprofit organizations, online communities, and anyone who serves the breast cancer and breast reconstruction community to celebrate with your volunteers. Do so this month of April during Volunteer Appreciation Month in simple, small gestures.
No one walks the Journey of breast cancer and breast reconstruction alone. To every volunteer I mention in this blog and to the countless others who I have met and work with each day, thank you for providing hope, education, support, and encouragement to the breast cancer community. You are healers, helpers, advocates, and guardians of hope!
