They Might Be Imposters

Check it out- a benefit show for BRICKS for Young Adults!!


Saturday, September 17 at 7:30pm

Hambone's
4207 Butler Street
Pittsburgh, PA


THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS COVER SHOW! Pittsburgh bands play the songs of They Might Be Giants!

21+
$1-3 donation to BRICKS for Young Adults, providing support for young adults with cancer.

Middle Children
They Might Be Jerks
Skinless/Boneless
Weird Paul Rock Band
Attention Deficit Evi
Ben Blanchard
Pam Hanlin
Scott Fry
...and possibly one or two others

Facebook invite can be found HERE. Come on out and join us!

Blood & Cupcakes....FOUR?!

Thats right friends, its that time again. Time to start thinking about our FOURTH annual Blood & Cupcakes replenishing blood drive to benefit Central Blood Bank.

Details to come, but mark your calendars NOW for Saturday, November 5, 2011. You can count on all the things you love about B&C- the donor raffle, the friendly faces, that warm fuzzy feeling you have knowing youre helping other people, oh yeah- AND CUPCAKES!!!!

Check back here for more info, and dont forget to read over the basic donor qualifications to see if you are eligible to give blood!

New Hope Post

I recently learned about The New Hope Post, a publication working in conjunction with the New Hope Challenge. The Post provides a great source of information for anyone hoping to learn more about cancer awareness and resources. The Challenge is a 3000+ mile cycling event meant to raise awareness along the way. More about both of these things soon, but for now please check out their websites! Such good stuff!

Somehow I missed all of July....

...but August promises to have lots of good info!

Lets start by talking about the Crawl for Cancer to benefit my friends at the Cancer Caring Center!

This team-based bar crawl is held at location all over the country, with the Pittsburgh event taking place on Saturday, September 17. For more information visit the Crawl for Cancer web site!

To blog or not to blog....

Im not sure that the thoughts rolling around in my head are worth sharing, so of course, here I am. Typing them out, working through them.

Ive been thinking a lot lately about how to go about the second edition of the BRICKS for Young Adults Cancer Awareness and Resource Guide. I think its a worthwhile project and I learned a lot the first time around. Surely the second time through will be easier. I have the funds I need. I know, more or less, what Im doing. What I dont have are stories. I need YOU for that part. Ive put out the call a few times, Ive emailed individuals who I thought might want to contribute, the response has been disheartening. People say its necessary, that the project has value. I know that writing about one's cancer experience can be extremely difficult and deeply personal- but isnt that the point? Isnt that what makes the booklet so important?

If youve considered contributing to the booklet, please let me know. Post in the comments here or shoot me an email at brickspgh at gmail dot com. I would really love to make this happen again.

Another thing that will happen again, without doubt, is Blood & Cupcakes. This November will be my fourth time hosting the blood drive, and its almost time to start working on it again, which I can hardly believe. If youre a regular donor, or have never given before, now is the time to start thinking about coming out and helping us reach our goal of 60 units of blood collected for the Central Blood Bank, in honor of their 60 years of serving the community.

Theres lots more to talk about and think about but for now I think this all I want to type about. Ha. More soon, dont hesitate to get in touch with questions, comments, concerns, or contributions.

So its been a while.....

....and things have been a little slow around BRICKS headquarters. Here are a couple of important things we wanted to share with you:

1: The SAMFund is now accepting applications for its grant program for young adult cancer survivors.

Part I of the application for 2011 SAMFund grants is available now. The deadline for submitting Part I is: Wednesday, July 6th by
5:00 pm EST.

The SAMFund proudly provides financial assistance to young adults as they move forward with their lives after cancer. With our support, survivors are empowered to achieve their educational, professional and personal goals.

Grants provided by The SAMFund cover a wide range of post-treatment financial needs, such as (but not limited to): rent and utilities, car and health insurance premiums, graduate tuition, vocational training, student loan repayment, current and residual medical bills, family-building expenses, gym memberships and transportation costs.

Learn more by CLICKING HERE.

2: The Cancer Caring Center will be hosting their Jeans, Jewels & Jazz event on Wednesday, June 22 from 7-10pm. All proceeds benefit the Cancer Caring Center: celebrating 23 years of service to our community. This local non-profit has provided a wide variety of free support services to cancer patients and families including children. All services are free.

To learn more about this fundraising event CLICK HERE.

Funerals, Parties & Home Renovations

2 years ago today I was at my husband's funeral. 1 year ago today I was at the BRICKS booklet release party. Today I went to IKEA and Home Depot.

It struck me as incredibly odd/crazy/terrifying that so much has changed, and yet so much is still the same, after 2 years. TWO YEARS. Lately Ive been wondering what Ive done with my life in these 24 months. Have I done enough? Am I "better" enough? Are things "normal" enough? If I look at the ways I spent March 20th in 2009, 2010, and 2011, then the answer appears to be yes.

Im not sure if thats the right answer, or if there even IS a right answer. I think, though, that there is some sense to this. Maybe getting through all of this is sort of like working on my house. One little job at a time, one small improvement. Do another project when I have the time and resources. I can live with it as is, but I just have to keep working and making it better.