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Breastie Boxes and Fort Wayne Metals team up to Support Local Women with Breast Cancer
- Published June 24th, 2023
Breastie Boxes and Fort Wayne Metals team up to Support Local Women with Breast Cancer
Breastie Boxes, a new breast-cancer survivor-built non-profit in Fort Wayne, will partner will Fort Wayne Metals to pack Breastie Boxes with comforting items from local businesses to be gifted to 50 women across greater Fort Wayne who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Erica Hyatt, Breastie Boxes co-founder, is committed to meeting women where they are - making them feel special and reminding them they aren't alone on this journey. She would know, having fought, and beaten breast cancer herself in 2021. The boxes contain items such as socks, blankets, natural personal care products and jewelry or hand-crafted art - all hand-picked by the Breastie Box team to bring comfort and hope during breast cancer diagnosis or treatment.
"According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer; that is your mother, sister, aunt, friend, and even a co-worker," says Erica. "When meeting other 'breasties', we all found the emotional side of the journey was often the hardest battle fought despite chemotherapy, radiation, and various surgeries. Here at Breastie Boxes, we are going to remind women (and men) that a strong and optimistic mental attitude is everything during a diagnosis of this disease, while also sharing a little comfort, hope, confidence, and joy along the way with a pretty pink package."
Since inception, the non-profit has given out more than 150 boxes. Right now, they support Parkview, Dupont, and Lutheran patients with 40 boxes each month. The cost of funding one month is $3,000. Fort Wayne Metals is the non-profit's first Corporate Sponsor and the first sponsors to host a Pack-the-Box event for their employees.
On July 26, Fort Wayne Metals employees will gather on their campus to pack the pink boxes and write notes of encouragement to women affected with breast cancer.
"It's a privilege to support Breastie Boxes, and the women it supports during their hardest moments," says Taylor Monaco, Community Engagement Manager at Fort Wayne Metals.
About Breastie Boxes
Breastie Boxes was founded in October 2022 by Erica Hyatt (a breast cancer survivor) and Samantha Glassley (who lost her mother to this disease). Together they saw a gap in patient care when it came to the emotional side of a breast cancer diagnosis. They saw the need to incorporate quality items; some even from local businesses, other items including safer ingredients, and materials that would bring comfort to the patients during treatment. On an average, 30-40 boxes go out the doors of local treatment centers to patients undergoing treatment. Breastie Boxes distributes treatment and surgical boxes to make sure a variety of breast cancer patients are supported.
About Fort Wayne Metals
A leading manufacturer of precision materials used in life-improving medical devices, Fort Wayne Metals is dedicated to making Northeast Indiana and the world a better place. As committed as we are to supporting our customers' medical technologies, our more than 1,600 employees are just as committed to contributing to community organizations and causes. Whether it's providing the world with customized materials solutions to support the medical device industry or championing efforts that lift up local communities, we are passionate about making lives better. Learn more at fwmetals.com