Children coping with serious illness have courage. Have courage to care for kids in Pennsylvania!

Stringing her Beads of Courage was the first time I’ve seen my daughter perk up and actually interact and be a little happy. It was the bright spot in what had been a nightmare. She LOVES to have her beads with her.” - Chloe’s Mom

For 20 years, Beads of Courage has been able to keep pace with the growing demand for its programs and services. That demand is higher than ever and unfortunately, resource constraints are threatening the capacity to meet this increasing demand. Every day children are added to our waitlist. Their treatments and the battle won’t wait. Let’s be certain that children, like Chloe, in Pennsylvania have the support they need! Your gift will first and foremost fund the beads children need and help rebuild the capacity for us to support children, families, and clinicians who are fighting the most courageous battle imaginable every day.

Beads of Courage, Inc. is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and teens coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them through our Arts-in-Medicine Programs. We believe in creating a context for caring transactions to transpire through our community and encouragement programs.

Since 2005, Beads of Courage, Inc. has established collaborative partnerships in caring with hundreds of hospitals nationally and internationally and worked with several community organizations to make healing happen through the use of beads as a historical art form.

Through our programs, we provide the opportunity for COURAGE to be honored, HOPE to be given, and JOY to be experienced.

Why beads? Beads have a consistent presence in human experiences with thousands of years of history serving as symbols of value, status, and above all strength and courage. Beads of Courage are gifted by the child’s medical team, giving the clinicians themselves the opportunity to help them emotionally during their incredibly hard journey. The children string their beads throughout their treatment journey, culminating in a colorful story of courage, resiliency, and strength. Their Beads of Courage collection becomes an enduring part of the child's emotional support as they convey and commemorate their stories of courage, strength, and resilience.

Children tell us their Beads of Courage help them feel proud of what they have overcome, that their beads make them happy, and they are able to show and tell their stories of courage to their family and friends. It is not uncommon for survivors to wear their beads at graduations, weddings, and other life's important occasions, again reminding themselves and those around them that they are courageous, strong, and resilient. Likewise, the beads become a family symbol of unity and strength with siblings being given beads for their love and support and parents and other loved ones being able to hold onto a more emotionally uplifting artifact of otherwise one of the most difficult phases of their family lives. For children who succumb to their illness, their Beads of Courage collection becomes a visual and tangible legacy of their courage that their families use to support their grief and remember their loved one. Every time a bead is

given courage is honored, suffering is alleviated, resilience is

strengthened, and the experience of human caring is affirmed.