Finding family in PRG
In January of 2018, my younger 14-year-old sister, Hannah, was taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital with lower abdominal pain. She went through several tests before they found a 20+ pound tumor growing on her left ovary, which was later removed on January 30. Our family and her team of doctors were very hopeful that the tumor was benign, but during her follow-up surgical appointment, we learned that was not the case. A small portion of the tumor had started to mutate and turned malignant. Hannah was then diagnosed with mucinous adenocarcinoma of the ovary.
After several appointments, tests, scans, fertility treatment and surgeries, she started her chemotherapy treatments on March 24. During this time the outpouring of love, prayers and support was immense. This was when we started our Facebook and Instagram pages, Team Hannah. We used social media as a way to allow people to show support and also stay updated on how everything was going. It was during that time that my mother’s friend reached out to us about Pink Ribbon Girls. She told us about the organization and its services and encouraged us to contact them. We were stubborn and didn’t want to accept the help, so she reached out on our behalf. Not long after, my mother received a phone call from Pink Ribbon Girls telling her about their services and signed Hannah up. They were just too sweet, you couldn’t say no.
We soon started receiving our meals, which along with peer support were the only services we used. The meals were amazing and very convenient. My parents were at the hospital a lot with my sister, so they weren’t home to make dinner or to go to the grocery. As a 16-year-old, I certainly was not a chef and neither was my older brother. The hospital bills kept growing while the paychecks kept declining, so these meals were a fast, simple and cheap solution that really lightened the burden on my family.
Quickly Pink Ribbon Girls became more than an organization, they were an extension of our family. We went to many events and had the honor of meeting Heather as well as some other members of the organization. Hannah was invited to be part of a fashion show modeling for Merchant31 Boutique and our family went on a Thanksgiving week retreat to North Captiva Island in Florida. Pink Ribbon Girls gave us the opportunity to meet new and amazing people and experience things we never thought we would have otherwise. Hannah had her last chemo on July 10, 2018, and was eventually deemed in remission. Though the meals from Pink Ribbon Girls stopped coming, their love and support didn’t. They continued to be there for us and we continue to support them.
In the fall of 2019, I started my college journey and started earning a visual communications degree at Sinclair Community College. In Summer 2021, I was taking one of my last classes for my degree. In that class, we were assigned a project that required us to reach out to a non-profit and offer our design services. I reached out to Pink Ribbon Girls without a second thought and quickly got an email back. Renee, the director of brand strategy and marketing, explained that they had an internship opening working within their marketing department and asked if I would be interested in being considered. The offer couldn’t have been more perfect, I was about to get my degree and would soon be looking for work in the field.
I started my internship in the beginning of August and have been here since. It has truly been a blessing being able to work for such a great organization and beside so many amazing people. I’ve been given the opportunity to meet and hear the stories of many inspiring women. There is so much hard work and dedication going on behind the scenes. All of the employees at Pink Ribbon Girls are truly passionate about the mission and care about the clients. Being able to work for an organization that helped my family, and numerous others, has been an unbelievable experience.