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  Photo by Chris Jensen

THE POWER OF POSSIBILITY

From Ventura to Santa Paula, from Oxnard to Camarillo, at cancer walks, in classrooms, and at special events, this quilt gets around!  Our Ribbons of Life PHOTO QUILT project is built from the heart of our organization. 

Stories Through Pictures.  Behind each smiley patch is a life story.  We hear them from survivors, husbands, boyfriends, siblings, children and caregivers who also endure the breast cancer challenge.  They live with someone who has it, knows someone who survived it, or misses someone who died from it.  This sharing can be personally and socially healing to any community. 

The power of possibility lives within this quilt as it holds many public benefits:

• It provides a voice behind those faces touched by breast cancer throughout Ventura County.
• It provides hope to those diagnosed with breast cancer, their families, friends and those in the community by sending the message that they are not alone.
• It includes photos with spouses, mothers, children--even grandchildren allowing them to be acknowledged.
• It promotes education and advocacy to both genders and cultures.
• It provides a human dimension to breast cancer.
• It serves as an ice breaker to converse openly about the subject, ask questions, learn,  and exchange inspirational stories. 
• It serves as an educational tool in classrooms and at numrous organizational events.   
• It conveys a we're-all-in-this-together message.
• It provides a sense of community to breast cancer survivors when they contribute their photos, sew the squares together, carry what they've sewn in cancer survivor walks, and watch people smile when they spot their photo on the quilt.
• It projects light to what is sometimes considered a dark subject. 
• It emphasizes positive thoughts of WHAT CAN BE DONE removing the focus from what can't be done.

Where can I see this quilt?

• American Cancer Society's Relay for Life events: It is carried by breast cancer survivors before, during, and after the opening survivor walk.
• American Association of University Women Programs (AAUW)
• Special Organizational Event Programs within Ventura County 
• Community Fundraising Events 

How can I contribute?  If you are a breast cancer survivor, we welcome you your photo via regular mail or email. Please include your full name, phone number/email address; and your handwritten permission to include the photo in the quilt.

If you do not have breast cancer, but have a photo of a friend or family member who endured a journey with breast cancer, we invite you to do the same. 

For photos to print clearly, they need to be a quality close-up in at least a 4" x 4" size.  If you scan and email the photo , it will reach us sooner.  Please attach send it as an attachment in a .tiff or .jpeg format.  If you don't have scanning capabilities, kindly mail us your photo to: Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation, PO Box 7733, Ventura, CA, 93006, ATTN: Quilt Project.

Once the picture and information is submitted, we'll do the rest, unless you would like to help. 

Donations: In addition to monetary donations, we are in need of cloth, sewing needles, thread, and the cloth transer paper (which runs at a considerable cost.)

Volunteers:

• Computer Experts: to print out photos onto the cloth transfer paper, 4"x 4".
• Quilting Experts/Sewers: to sew individual quilt squares and attach to the quilt.

 LET'S BE REAL - CARRYING THE QUILT

Viewers comment that breast cancer becomes more "real" to them when gazing at the faces of such high-spirited individuals.  Those who carry this quilt carry it with reality and honor that they may have breast cancer, but breast cancer does not have them.  They listen to inspirational stories and kind words that bring strength.  They often receive donations to keep the project alive.  Most importantly, they receive many heartfelt embraces that provide energy to continue in their life journeys.