Headbands of Hope was founded by Jessica Ekstrom (aka Jess) when she did an internship at the Make a Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina in the Summer of 2011. One morning as she was pulling her hair into a ponytail, she thought about the hundreds of girls that lose their hair to chemotherapy. She understood that being a girl in itself poses self esteem issues but then add to that, losing their hair trying to battle a life threatening illness. She then started Headbands of Hope.
Their mission is simple: To spread hope in all girls and fund research for childhood cancer, one headband at a time.
Childhood cancer takes the lives of more children in the U.S. than any other disease – in fact, more than many other childhood diseases combined. Children with cancer cannot be treated simply as “smaller adults.” The cancers strike kids differently and they are in a crucial stage of development, which complicates the effects of treatments and can result in life-long complications. Although research over the last 40 years has raised the overall cure rate from virtually none to about 80%, many types of childhood cancer remain very difficult to cure. Progress is also especially slow in curing adolescents and young adults, because federal funding for childhood cancers is a fraction compared to adult cancers. Therefore, attention needs to be brought to childhood cancer.
I received three very beautiful headbands to base my review. They all came in a pretty pink mesh bag. You could tell just from the packaging that they take the time and effort to make sure their products stand out from the rest. After taking care of my Father before he passed last year from cancer, I now tend to lean more towards buying from companies that donate to cancer research. It’s a very important cause that I gladly give my extra money too. My three headbands will be worn proudly by two of my nieces and my new grand-daughter expected to make her entrance soon. We will proudly spread the word and the Mission of Headbands of Hope to everyone we come across. Together, we can make a difference.
A Few Facts about Childhood cancer:
1 in every 5 children diagnosed with cancer will not survive
Childhood cancer kills more children than any other illness
Two-Thirds of childhood cancer patients will have a lifelong chronic condition from the very treatment that helped save their life
Worldwide, a child is diagnosed with cancer every 3.5 minutes
These are very alarming facts, and together, we can all do our part to help these children beat this terrible disease.
It’s a volunteer driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.
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