The Chix 4 a Cause Story
Once cancer touches your life, you are never the same.
Chix 4 a Cause CEO and Visionary Founder Jillian Clark learned this firsthand. Three of her friends being diagnosed with cancer in the same year changed her life – 4ever. It was September of 2004 when Clark received a call saying a friend’s appendix had burst while she was feeding her newborn daughter. It was soon discovered the appendix was cancerous. From the outside looking in, Jillian just wanted to do something to help her friend.
Within a few months, another friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Jillian offered support in traditional ways, but the feeling that she wished she could do something more continued to tug at her soul. In December when a third person, her best friend, was also diagnosed with breast cancer, Jillian began a deeply personal journey with cancer at her friend’s side each and every day.
Life does not stop when a battle with cancer begins.
In addition to the emotional ramifications, a cancer diagnosis often means that medical appointments, tests, surgeries, treatments, side effects and checkups suddenly monopolize a lot of time. Cancer doesn’t stop life from happening, but it can add tough times to the mix. A person with cancer must still go to a job, pay bills, care for children and other family members, take care of a home—live life!
A desire to do something more is the foundation of Chix 4 a Cause.
At the same time her best friend was undergoing breast cancer surgery, Jillian reflected on the battles each of her friends had to face. While her other two friends were responding well to treatments by that time, her best friend’s journey with the disease was just beginning. Cancer seemed to be all around her and the call to do something more was constant. Still in the surgical waiting room, Jillian, a singer/songwriter, wrote these words, CHIX 4 A CAUSE. In that moment she realized there was something more she could do and she continued to write . . . help for people fighting cancer—and their families—to get through tough times.
The Vision
Before her friend’s (successful) surgery was over, Jillian not only had a vision for the something more she could do, but a plan of bringing other people together to do so much more than she could ever do on her own! The idea behind Chix 4 a Cause was simply this: pick up some of the pieces, spread a little joy, lift a spirit or two, relieve a burden and lighten the load. Now Jillian had a plan to go with the words “to help people fighting cancer and their families get through tough times.”
Chix 4 a Cause is born.
In spring of 2005, Jillian rented space in the Old Courthouse in West Bend, Wisconsin, convinced people to donate food, beverages and auction items, provided music entertainment; and invited her friends, their friends, and their friend’s friends to come out for an evening of celebration to support the cause. That first Evening of Celebration event raised $6,000 and kick-started the nonprofit organization that would reach out with Gifts of Love to people fighting cancer in the immediate community.
Gifts of Love
Gifts of Love vary as they are unique to the individual/family need. They may include a one-time monetary gift, a mortgage/rent payment, a utility payment, gas cards, a computer, a night out or a weekend away, cleaning services, resource connections, prayer shawls, and/or emotional support. “Whatever it takes,” is the motto for the Gifts of Love program.
In April of 2012 we held our eighth annual Evening of Celebration! Additionally, we have several business partners and organizations who also sponsor a variety of fund-raisers to support the cause. Thanks to these businesses, organizations and many amazing volunteers dedicated to making a difference, we have provided more than $100,000 in Gifts of Love and have expanded our reach beyond Washington County to now serving Southeastern Wisconsin.
Because Cancer Has Its eXtras, Chix 4 a Cause LTD is making a difference one Gift of Love at a time.
Please join Chix 4 a Cause!
The following links will help you make a difference with us.
- DONATE 4 a Cause
- VOLUNTEER 4 a Cause
- SPONSOR A FUND-RAISING EVENT 4 a Cause