What to do with boxes of beads while I continue the unending process of evolving as a valuable member of the glass bead making community? Box them all up and send them to Beads of Courage. I learned of the program through my local bead club "Fire and Rain" about a month ago.
When I think of the endless little birds I've practiced to recreate from a much respected beadmaker, Manuela Wutschke from Germany, I couldn't help but think how much joy they would bring in the hands of a child undergoing a serious illness. Up until now, they have been sitting, unappreciated, in a box in my studio with no future hope of release.
So, I boxed them up yesterday - after making certain they had no sharp spots and that there was no lingering bead release in the holes - and as soon as I get some packing tape, they are shipping off to the Beads of Courage headquarters in Tucson, Arizona where they will be distributed to children participating in the program.
When I made the decision to do this it was like new inspiration and ideas on how to make the perfect bead began to flood my being...where did it come from? One of those unexplainable spirital happenings we hear about from time to time - a boost to my own courage as I spread the love for making glass beads.
What is the Beads of Courage Program?
Every bead tells a story of strength, honor and hope.
The Program is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen the protective resources in children coping with serious illness. Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path.
