our story

THE SPARK!

" Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind." - Henry James

      Over 10 years ago, a small local law firm, in an effort to "do something to help" a young woman in their office who was undergoing treatment for cancer came up with a unique plan.  They decided to to send she and her family away on a vacation before her next round of treatment. This trip would allow them to get out of town and have some fun without all the stresses of planning a vacation.  

         It is this random act of kindness that has remained on our hearts and has become the Spark  for the One Week Foundation!

 

MORE THAN IT SEEMS:

"No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted." - Aesop

            As so often is the case, this extremely kind gesture really gave so much more than anyone could have realized,  Not only did this provide a wonderful chance to get away from it all and rest before going back into the next treatment, this trip “made room”.   It made room for some of the things that had gotten lost in the shuffle of living with cancer; laughter, games, silly conversations with the kids, splashing in the pool, floating on a raft, great pictures and memories. Simply put, It made room for more fun by changing the focus for 7 days.   This one kind act shifted the focus of this family’s life from managing their lives with cancer  to experiencing something new together and simply enjoying one another. 

 

PUTTING OUR WORKBOOTS ON:

"Kindness is just love with it's workboots on."  - Anonymous

          If you have ever known anyone living with cancer, don't you wish you could just give them a break?  We have seen mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, colleagues, neighbors, ourselves face the challenges of living with it everyday.  We witness how cancer diagnosis and treatment change the focus of entire families and friends' lives and very often replaces the joy, fun, laughter, strength and ease with fear, doubt, depression, loneliness and powerlessness.  Our efforts are simple, to give families living in this challenging space, a break!   In re-igniting the Spark that started with that one kind act, we aim to take back some of the the space in life that cancer takes over and make room for the strengthening parts of life-joy, laughter, fun!

 

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