#beadchallenge

On September 26, we will fire up the torches to support Beads of Courage, Inc. It is a project near and dear to our hearts.

Beads of Courage, Inc. exists to provide innovative Arts-in-Medicine programs for children and teens coping with serious illness, their families and healthcare providers who care for them.

Beads of Courage is passionate about giving children and their families coping with serious illness the ability to RECORD, TELL and OWN their story of COURAGE. Each bead represents a treatment, test or procedure that a child faced, but also says, “I did it!”  

Among these beads are artisan-made “Act of Courage” beads, given to mark important milestones during treatment and provide an extra dose of encouragement for children struggling with challenges.  Beads of Courage distributes over 100,000 Act of Courage beads each year, many of which will be created on National Bead Challenge Day.

This is the fifth year that Pittsburgh Glass Center has participated in the Bead Challenge. We’ve met so many courageous kids and their families from Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

See some of the photos from past events.

The event at Pittsburgh Glass Center on Saturday, September 26 is a fundraiser and “bead raiser” supporting Beads of Courage, Inc.  From 10 am–4 pm, glass bead artists will be at their torches for six consecutive hours, creating one-of-a-kind glass beads in a bead making marathon benefitting Beads of Courage.   Additional activities will include live bead making demonstrations, glass bead and jewelry shopping, and a make-and-take Courage Clip, along with door prizes and giveaways.  Admission is free, but some activities may require a small fee.

Artists will also work to fulfill Dream Bead wishes for Beads of Courage members who have requested a special bead to add to their collection.  Local children and families in the Beads of Courage program will visit the studio during the event to receive their dream bead from the artist who created it especially for them.

If you cannot attend on Saturday, but still want to support Beads of Courage, you can donate to our Bead Challenge. Our team is trying to fund the most virtual beads to go on our virtual bead strand. The more money we raise, the more peach beads will appear on the virtual strand. We want to be the number one participating studio in the country.