Hi, I'm Sarah Lister. (Kerstin’s sister)
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In 2016, I was quite unexpectedly diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and my life was saved by a bone marrow transplant. After 127 days in the hospital, I realized that many patients are isolated with little or no support during their stay. Seeing this made me overwhelmed with gratitude for the (literally) hundreds of people who helped me and my family.
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To give back, I founded The Zinnia Project in 2017, a privately run charitable effort to deliver cheer to hospitalized cancer patients and their caregivers. I offer several gifts each month including welcome bags for newly-admitted patients, larger baskets of toiletries and supplies for an extended hospital stay, an art therapy coloring kit, and a holiday gift. This year’s gift is a colorful tote bag featuring Kerstin’s beautiful artwork and filled with a journal, pen, highlighter, hand sanitzer and KN95 mask.
I never knew that most hospitalized cancer patients cannot have any live plants or flowers in their room. My sister helped me create holiday tote bags with a hand-illustrated Zinnia bouquet, so now patients and their caregivers can have a safe and lovely “bouquet to go” they can use to carry items home and bring to the many (many) clinic appointments to follow.
BECOME A SPONSOR TODAY!
Please select from the options below. Be sure to write in the PayPal notes the name and street address of each person you are honoring with your gift. If you have any questions, please email Sarah at ZinniaProjectSarah@gmail.com
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$25 - Sponsor a beautiful Holiday Tote bag featuring Zinnia bouquet artwork by Kentucky native artist Kerstin Rao.
$50 - Sponsor five “Mini Zinnie” patient welcoming kits that include a supply of toiletries and comfort items.
$100 - Sponsor a Large Patient Basket full of comfort bedside essentials and art supplies for special patients who have limited resources and support.
Want to donate a different amount to help fund the continuation of Zinnia Projects in 2023? Great! More info below.
When my little sister Sarah was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer in 2016, I flew down to Kentucky every chance I could get. We all circled around Sarah as she was treated for 120 straight days at the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky.
Every day since is a ‘bonus day’ filled with blessings and gratitude. Sarah remembers how lonely it was on the hospital ward, so she started The Zinnia Project - hand-curated baskets of gifts to meet the specific needs of the patients and their caregivers.
Donors to Sarah’s Zinnia Project lift her spirit every single day, and make a meaningful difference to patients fighting for their lives.
SARAH CAN ALSO TAKE DONATIONS AS FOLLOWS:
BY CHECK:
Sarah Lister, 2213 Shannawood Drive, Lexington, KY 40513
(Please write ‘Zinnia Project’ in memo line)
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PAYPAL:
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VENMO:
@Sarah-Lister-1
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The Zinnia Project is not a 501(c)3 organization. Gifts are not tax-deductible.
THE ZINNIA PROJECT CARD
When you buy a Zinnia Card from the Vivid Cottage shop 10% of the profit goes to help my Sarah's wonderful efforts. I’m so proud of my little sister and so humbled to help her bring comfort and joy to patients and their caregivers…
