Archive for the ‘Touched by Cancer’ Category

One of the things we hear at The Brides Project a lot is that brides want to get their dresses from us because they’ve lost someone to cancer, or have a relative who’s going through treatment, or a survivor. We hear this far too often, and this is one of the reasons we’re committed to raising money for cancer charities.

Such was the case with Stephanie, who got her dress from The Brides’ Project for her September wedding, and sent along this message:

I just wanted to say thank you for my wedding dress! I felt absolutely gorgeous in it and everyone kept telling me how much they loved the dress. Sadly, my husband’s mother passed away just three short weeks before our wedding of cancer so buying it from The Brides’ Project had such special meaning for me. Luckily, I was able to show her a picture of the dress before she passed away and she gave it her wholehearted approval. I will be donating the dress back to The Brides’ Project and I hope the next bride who wears it enjoys it just as much as I did!

Thank you so much Stephanie, for the kind words and for the lovely photos!

This year, you’ll see a gaggle of staff and friends of The Brides’ Project attending the Run for the Cure 2012 on Sunday September 30th at U of T Campus.   We take part in this terrific event to celebrate the advances in cancer research and treatment that have kept us, our friends, sisters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers and others with us today.  We also take part to remember those we’ve lost.

We welcome you to join us in the sea of pink, and/or to make a donation to our team!  The Brides’ Project is contributing $15,000 for this effort, and these funds are made available with thanks to the wonderful brides who have donated their wedding dresses, and the lucky new brides-to-be who gave them a new home  Thank you all for making this possible!

We love to hear about what other members of The Brides’ Project community are doing to fight cancer, and I must say, this one is a whopper!

Sarah (who donated her gorgeous dress), is now approaching the last few days of her Vancouver to Halifax bike tour with her hubby Jim.

They took on this challenge in honour of Sarah’s father who they lost to brain cancer in December and for other friends and family members who have battled the terrible disease. It is the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride from Vancouver to Halifax from September 5th to 21st, where 100% of the funds raised are divided between the 17 pediatric oncology facilities across Canada.   Their goal as a couple is to raise $50k for the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation by December.  There are links online about how to get involved, join them in the ride and/or make a donation.  In addition, if any of the members of the community want to get their companies and schools involved, they have offered to host an “Inside Ride” spinning bike team-builder fundraiser in Oct. or Nov.

From all of us… congratulations and kudos.  May the roads be smooth, the winds at your back and the skies fair for the remainder of your journey.

Again this year, members of our crew will be out to support the Terry Fox Run, and the Brides’ Project will be providing a donation of $15,000.

Helen Sweet, our founder, had the following words to share about this event:

I started The Brides’ Project in 2004 in memory of my best friend Lisa who I lost to cancer when we were only 9 years old. She had the same cancer as Terry Fox, and like him, lost her leg and finally succumbed to the disease.   We grew up just outside St. John’s, where Terry started his run and I vividly remember thinking how remarkable this man was to take on such an immense challenge for people like my friend Lisa.

For the past 8+ years, I have operated The Brides’ Project to help fight cancer, and it all started due to the inspiration provided by these two remarkable individuals.

I recently read an article in the Chatham Daily News that was hugely inspirational, about a man diagnosed with the same cancer some 20 years later.  Doctors managed to salvage not only his leg, but his life.  This is testament to the great advances that have been made in cancer research, and the fact that our efforts, our dollars and our time make a huge difference. Read it here.

I am particularly impressed by the Terry Fox Foundation because they are efficient and effective! 85 cents on the dollar goes directly to research. Given the rate of advancement in research, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that we can find a cure in our lifetime… with your help. Every dollar counts, and we are so grateful for your support. Just as Terry and Lisa never gave up, never complained, and never felt sorry for themselves, I think WE can all do more to inspire those around us to make a difference in our lifetimes.

We welcome you to JOIN OUR TEAM as we take part at Wilket Creek in Toronto, or MAKE A DONATION to support the cause! If nothing else, spread the word and keep the faith…

… and we only have until May 20 to do it! It is a contest to get Toronto Maple Leaf’s Tyler Bozak to support a local cause, and the only way we can win is to get ourselves up to the top of his list.

How do we do it? By VOTING! Just click on the website once a day until the campaign ends May 20. Tell all your friends to click it, too, which bumps our campaign up. If we win, Tyler joins our Relay For Life team and will walk with us on June 15, as either another bride (we’ll make that dress fit!) or a groom. Relay For Life is the Canadian Cancer Society’s biggest annual event, raising funds for the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre. The official contest entry by Cari Miller from the Canadian Cancer Society:

Here Comes The Bride!

where should tyler chip in? toronto, on

how should tyler chip in his time? who wouldn’t want to see tyler in a wedding gown? the brides’ project attends relay for life each year sporting wedding gowns, and he would be a great addition to the team. you pick, tyler– you can be a bride or a groom surrounded by brides! this great event is in toronto’s sunnybrook park, and it raises money for the sunnybrook odette cancer centre and the canadian cancer society. tyler’s support would mean a lot, and we think he would look awesome in a wedding gown! swap the hockey fight for wedding white and join us this june!

website of charity/cause: www.relayforlife.ca/torontocentral

We would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player on our Relay For Life team to help us achieve our fundraising goals. You can help us just by voting for our joint effort with the Canadian Cancer Society and let Tyler know how much we’d love to have his support. Wouldn’t you love to see an NHL hockey player in a wedding dress?

VOTE HERE! AND VOTE EVERY DAY UNTIL MAY 20!

Dear Friends of The Brides’ Project, we have another dress in the shop for a soon-to-be-bride, and this one is graced with a special message of hope and love:

I battled Leukaemia when I was just 3 years old, and am a proud survivor. At the height of my cancer, my parents never thought they would get the chance to see me walk down the aisle. But thanks to the amazing work done in the cancer research field, here I am today, married for almost 8 years now and with two beautiful sons. Of course, when I learned that I could donate my dress to a charity that supports cancer research, I knew that that was what I must do with my own dress.

… I wanted to send a couple of photos to go along with the dress. I hope another lucky bride will get a chance to love this dress, just as I did on my wedding day.

–Shawna H.

Shawna, thank you for sharing your dress and your story with us and our readers. You are a living reminder of why The Brides’ Project exists! We hope there will be no need for a shop like ours in the future once cancer is cured, but until then we will continue to serve the community. With your help, we can do it!