Mother's Day Tribute - The Locket Program

Seven children are lost to cancer each day in the US.  More than 2,500 moms over the past year alone will be grieving their loss on this day, because their child is not there to make a card, or gift a handful of flowers picked from the garden (or dandelions picked from the lawn).  It's a hard, hard day.  Almost impossible.

Thanks to our incredible supporters, we will be able to send out 200 more lockets to bereaved moms of childhood cancer.  It is the most heartbreaking thing we do at the TLC Foundation, we have shed countless tears as we print photos of these beautiful children and place them in the lockets.  Our hearts break over and over again, but at the same time it is the most meaningful project to work on.  We pour love into each and every locket, and we cry happy tears each time a mom reaches out to say thank you.  It means so very much to us that we can give this gift of remembrance, and it is your generosity that has made this program a reality.  

I have to give credit to my wonderful neighbor, Bianca, who inspired the project.  It was a simple gesture when she stopped by my house with a gift… a gift that has since evolved into something so much bigger. She gave me a locket. I had been desperately wanting a locket to put Ty's precious picture in. The locket was engraved with the poem “I Carry Your Heart with Me,” by E.E. Cummings. I wasn’t familiar with it at the time, but I sat in my room that night and read the poem over and over and over again until I fell asleep.

At the TLC Foundation we have since begun sending these lockets out to other moms across the country who have lost a child to cancer. We solicit anonymous donations to sponsor the gift, and apply all proceeds directly to fund childhood cancer research.

Of course, I know that a simple locket doesn’t change our painful reality, but to find a locket in your mailbox - with a photo of your child already inside - has proven to bring each recipient a feeling of comfort. It is just so important to know that our children are loved and remembered, and upon opening the package each mom feels less alone in her grief – even if just for a moment.

Thank you for thinking of all moms this Mother's Day. If you would like to participate in the Locket Program, visit prettystore.org.  If you know someone who lost a child to cancer, you can nominate them to receive a locket by filling out this simple form here.

TO SEE THE IMPACT OF THE PROGRAM, PLEASE WATCH:

https://vimeo.com/126331409