A Look Inside VBCF’s Outreach and Support

For the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation staff, preparation around Breast Cancer Awareness Month every October begins months in advance. We make breast health education available to all walks of our community – from churches to schools, offices to community centers. Although we provide our resources and educational services year-round, our busiest time of year is in the Fall as folks reach out for support to spread breast cancer awareness.

Whether they have ordered our free educational materials, requested a resource table or a speaker presentation for a special event, started a fundraiser, or volunteered, Virginians all across the state made October one of our most successful in history! As VBCF’s Operations & Resource Coordinator, part of my role is shipping out all of our Educational Materials orders and fielding the majority of calls from citizens requesting help or support. Looking back to the beginning of September, I assisted over 119 callers requesting resources or support in every region of Virginia and beyond.

I’m happy to report that our mailroom was busier than ever this year! We shipped 419 packages of educational resources all over Virginia since then, including 93 of our Support Kits – more than any previous year on record!

Another part of my role with VBCF is collaborating with our Education Manager, Erin Steigleder, to take our Resource Table to community events throughout the state. These occasions are one of my favorite parts of our work, and I always enjoy meeting so many folks in person to share awareness, support, and stories of hope. Read on for some recent highlights, including a special shoutout to the volunteers who helped us achieve our goal of revitalizing our Sewing Your Support Heart Pillow Volunteer program this year.

  • August 15: Attended the VCU Massey Advocate Roundtable alongside leaders from the community to discuss efforts to bridge the gaps of genetic testing participation in the Black community.
  • August 30: Hosted a virtual Volunteer Rally with our Education Manager Erin Steigleder to share more about how folks can get involved with VBCF.
  • Sept. 28 & 29: Hosted VBCF’s resource table at the Cancer Action Coalition of Virginia’s Conference.
  • September 30: Hosted VBCF’s resource table at Swimbait Universe’s The Gathering 5, which kicked off a month-long fundraising effort organized by the incredible Swimbait community nationwide.
  • October 3: Hosted VBCF’s resource table at the CVC Charity Fair for VA Dept. of Human Resource Management at John Randolph Building Downtown. It was also great to see our friends from The Doorways there – they provide lodging to patients in need when someone is receiving treatment in Richmond.
  • Friday, October 6: Hosted VBCF’s resource table at Mannassas’ First Fridays (themed Pink October for Awareness Month), a fantastic community event that closed down the streets to feature local businesses and live music.
  • Saturday, October 21:  Hosted VBCF’s resource table at the Walking With Confidence Women’s Expo. VBCF Board Member Marylinn Minor spoke to the crowd about breast health, being your own advocate, and getting more involved with VBCF’s work, followed by a great Q&A session with the ladies in attendance.
  • Sunday, October 22: Hosted VBCF’s resource table at Richmond’s PRIDE Fest alongside many other fantastic local organizations & makers.
  • October 31: Hosted VBCF’s resource table at the VA Dept. of Corrections for their annual employee health fair. This year’s theme was Dimensions of Wellness – Emotional, Environmental, Financial, Intellectual, Occupational, Physical, Social, and Spiritual.

A special Thank You to our 2023 Sewing Your Support Volunteers!

If you keep in touch with VBCF via our social media or news publications, you may have seen our call for more volunteers to donate the post-surgery heart-shaped pillows included in our Support Kits. As our Support Kits became increasingly popular over the past few years, we needed more help to keep up with the demand for pillows. These pillows are great to use in the car following a biopsy or surgery, protecting the area from your seatbelt.

As practical as they are, they also hold a very special purpose. We receive feedback frequently from recipients of the pillow to tell us how much emotional support and comfort it gave them as they began their treatment path. One woman said, “Thanks for the heart pillow. It has been my best friend. Nothing worked as well under the arm.” Another requested a kit for her sister-in-law, who was about to go through treatment. She reached out later to share with us: “I want to thank you for the surgery pillow. My sister-in-law took it with her to the hospital and hasn’t let go of it in a week. We very much appreciate it (as well as the information that was included).”

Thanks to the folks who responded to our request, we collected over 300 heart-shaped comfort pillows this year, with more on the way! We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the following volunteers and their fellow community members for donating their time and materials to spread the love to Virginians in need!

  • Mary Beth Hardy & the Central VA Chapter of the American Sewing Guild
  • Cindy Giles & Participants of the OktoberBreast 2023 Gold Tournament at Fredericksburg’s Gauntlet Golf Club
  • Viju Singh & the Ladies of the Hindu Center of Virginia
  • Debbie Repass
  • Jo Ann Miller
  • Bonnie McCranie
  • Norma Jean Ogden
  • The Sewing Group at Ebenezer Church
  • Ellen Wright
  • Lyndi Wells
  • Charlene “Jenny” Seitz
  • Connie Bennett
  • Jackie Kaiser
  • Irene Peterson
  • Molly Jenkins
  • Nadine Jones, Laverne McWilliams, & the Congregation of Pilgrims Journey Baptist Church
  • Barbara Carter
  • Jean Branch

Nikki Jennings has worked with VBCF since 2019 as Operations Manager and joined the VBCF Staff full-time in 2023 to grow our Resource Coordination Program. If you or a loved one needs support after a breast cancer diagnosis, reach out today at nikki@vbcf.org or 800-345-8223.

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