Project “Hopewell” | 20 Stories of Hope Continued

July 10, 2013

This week has been so incredible capturing photographs and video of people at HopeWell Cancer Support! So far I have filmed 16 people and 9 stories, almost half way!! Tomorrow I am meeting with 2-3 more individuals to film their stories.

“There’s always hope. HopeWell has a perfect name. A place to come to where your life can be optimistic.” – Sandra

HopeWell is a beautiful setting to have my outdoor office for a few days. This gal, who is normally stuck indoors editing, is getting to listen to the surrounding birds and watch the groundhogs run by makes for lots of laughs. I gain so much from each new person I meet and listen to. Not only is HopeWell a beautiful place to sit back and breathe in, it’s so welcoming!

Each individual I have met with emphasizes the “family” atmosphere. If the consistent theme of hours of stories is that one place can be an extended family and home to a diverse group of people, with one thing in common, they have something unique. I can’t think of many places that offer an environment where such a variety of people could come in the same door and feel at home. Each survivor said that HopeWell offers time with people that just “get” what they’re going through. There’s no need for explanations, they said, others just understand and the “C” word isn’t the only topic. The people at HopeWell bond on such a deep level they all said their connections are all life long family friendships…This to me is beautiful, we should all be so lucky to let perfect strangers in and become friends and family in this way.

View the growing grid of 20 Stories of Hope at the bottom of the page!!

See the beginning: 20 Stories of Hope Day 1 and 2

I want to continue to share each day’s stories. I’ll share more, but I want to leave you with a few special words that stuck with me spoken so eloquently by Sandra…..

“There is life after cancer and it can be very fulfilling. If you just give yourself a chance & let other people in to help you.”