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New young adult support group in Toronto: Ilymphoma!
I received another interesting (and exciting!) email from a survivor in our family the other day about another newly formed young adult support group in Toronto.
The group is called Ilymphoma and it is a support group founded by four young adult lymphoma survivors who met while being treated at Princess Margaret Hospital. The group is a peer-run support group for young people diagnosed with lymphoma. They are based in downtown Toronto, but they service those in the entire GTA and surrounding regions. The goal of the group is to connect people with others who have been diagnosed, to help them see they are not alone. They aim to provide a supportive environment, which fosters healthy exploration of the issues unique to young people who have been diagnosed with lymphoma.
The group had their first official meeting in August and opened the meeting up to others for their second meeting last week.
The group meets at 7 pm on the second Thursday of every month (October's meeting is scheduled for October 1 as the lymphoma Light the Night Walk is on October 8) at Princess Margaret Hospital on the 18th floor in the Pencer Centre. The website address is http://www.ilymphoma.ca/.
It is so great to hear about, and to help promote, these young adult focused programs!
Good luck to this new group!
Posted on Sep 15, 2009 - 10:14 AM
Young adult support groups in Toronto and Nova Scotia
While I was away retreating myself at our most recent young adult event, I received two very encouraging emails: one from Gilda's Club Greater Toronto and the other from the Cancer Patient Family Network in Nova Scotia.
Each group is offering young adult support group programs, which is so great to see!
I think it is awesome that there are other resources out there for young adult cancer patients and survivors. We all know that cancer for young adults is a different experience than any other age group. Issues such as dating & sex, fertility, education, finances, career, independence, etc. are different when you are 26 as opposed to when you're 66. These groups will help young adults connect and share in their experiences.
Toronto: Gilda's Club
Gilda's Club is running an I-Connect Networking Group, for young adults in their 20s and 30s living with cancer.
This group meets every last Thursday of the month from 6:30 to 8:30pm in the clubhouse.
For more information connect with Athanas Nijeru, Manager, Adult Programs, Gilda's Club Greater Toronto (110 Lombard Street, Toronto), Telephone: 416-214-9898 or email: athanas.njeru@gildasclubtoronto.org
Nova Scotia: Cancer Patient Family Network
Nova Scotia's Cancer patient Family Network is running several support groups in the fall, but two are specifically for young adults. Both are offered online to anyone in Nova Scotia. One is for young women with breast cancer (up to age 45) and the other is a general young adults group (up to age 30).
For more information on the online groups, or other programs, please contact Dr. Deborah McLeod at 902-473-2964.
Bravo to both organizations for putting a focus on young adult cancer patients/survivors!
Posted on Sep 10, 2009 - 11:51 AM
YACC goes green!
If you are connected with us, you likely already know that we've started a new initiative here at YACC: an electronic newsletter. Up To Here is a monthly update that tells you what's happening with YACC and the young adult cancer community in Canada sent right to your inbox. (If you haven't heard about it yet, sign up!) Up To Here replaces our quarterly printed newsletter and allows more of our funds to go directly to the young adult support programs we offer.
This is only one of the recent efforts we are making internally at YACC in order to reduce paper usage and become more efficient. We have also begun sending out electronic tax receipts for your donations when an email address is provided. We need your help. If you have donated to us in the past or think you might in the future, we encourage you to contact us and let us know your email address. I promise you, it will be as good as making another donation, but without having to pull out the checkbook!
The more we can communicate with you through email, the better. We will save time, which will making us better able to focus our efforts on young adults with cancer, and paper, which will help the environment. You will also start to see the benefits. Your tax receipts will come much quicker than usual, you'll be informed of YACC news and special events through Up To Here (if you wish to be) without having to visit our site every other day. Don't get me wrong, we'd love for you to visit our site every other day, and you'll have the knowledge that you're helping us and the young adults we serve by taking your support to another level.
So please consider calling us at 1.877.571.7325 or send your electronic address to us at connect@youngadultcancer.ca to show your support and help us to become more green!
Posted on Sep 03, 2009 - 01:15 PM
Improving YACC’s customer service
Have you ever called an organization to get information on one of their biggest events or programs and the person on the phone couldn't help you? Did you ever feel this is very strange? Like going to the drive thru at McDonald's and having to go through three people just to order a Big Mac?
Well, we realized a little while ago that the same situation could happen here. Being a national charity with limited resources (there are seven of us in the office) we are sometimes focused so hard on our own "department" that we get stuck. The phone will ring, a survivor will be on the other end looking for information on Retreat Yourself, and I may not be able to answer the question.
While this is bound to happen, I should at least be able to tell you the date, location, criteria, etc.
So we are trying to implement a new process here at YACC. Before each event is launched, the individual responsible for the event is to write up a simple Internal FAQ for all of the office staff.
Now I am not promising that I will be able to answer every question you may throw my way, but I am saying that we are taking a proactive approach to this and hopefully we will be able to answer the basics.
We are growing. With that comes growing pains (any Kirk Cameron fans out there?) but we are trying and with customer service as a major focus; hopefully your experiences with us will continue to improve.
Posted on Sep 01, 2009 - 05:23 PM
Wedding donations: A no brainer!
I am getting married in less than three weeks (17 days to be exact!). With my best friend's wedding this past weekend, and a wonderful retreat full of young adult survivors and supporters to attend this week in Vancouver (aka Retreat Yourself West), the big day is fast approaching!
When I think about it, I realize that there are some things that are not done and there are some things that will never get done, but the most important things have been taken care of. We have a judge, a reception hall, and a band so worst comes to worse, we will get married, eat, and dance. That is the main thing and really, that isn't bad at all!
Of all the decisions that had to be made in the course of this year, the gift to our guests was the easiest. I have attended many weddings where the bride and groom gave their guests beautiful and well thought-out gifts. Most of these gifts were very personal; I once received a tree to plant from a forestry student and my best friend gave candy apples (she is a teacher, so this spoke very close to her heart). This was what I wanted, to share with my guests something that was close to me and my husband-to-be (Ken).
So the decision was easy. We decided to share with our guests a huge part of our lives. It is a gift that was given to me almost three years ago now, the gift of Young Adult Cancer Canada. I have been truly blessed to be working in such a rewarding and life changing job for the past three years that I wanted to share it with those that are special to us. So Ken and I decided that we would make a donation to Young Adult Cancer Canada on behalf of our guests.
Being the current Managing Director and the past Director of Programs, I know exactly where the money goes. It goes to help young adults dealing with cancer. It connects them to valuable support and inspiration to help them in their journey.
I am about to take part in one of the biggest days of my life and I am so happy to share it with a very important thing in my life: you; the young adults out there in our family.
Posted on Sep 01, 2009 - 04:07 PM