When our daughter was first diagnosed, our world was rocked and we felt blindsided. One of the first items Milah received was a fabric bag, white handles and a red Christmas pattern. It was an Energized by Ebony bag. Inside were some fun items for her to play with during our consultation. What little girl doesn’t love getting a bag full of goodies? Play doh, crayons, activity books- you name it. Each month we visited the hospital for treatment, Milah received another bag. She was so excited to get to the room and see what was inside this time! These bags helped her take her mind off of getting poked and doing something fun during a boring hospital visit. Energized by Ebony bags gave us both something to keep our mind off of what was happening and where we were. We had crafts to put up in our room, bubbles to pop, all of it was so comforting. Now that we are through the thick of it, I can appreciate all these bags and more have done for us during our journey. Creating those special moments with our daughter is something we can never forget. These bags also helped Milah carry around her catheter bag and made it SO much easier to get her out of the house and keep our dog off of her tubes! We now get to have a variety of little fabric bags floating around our house- creating more moments to cherish. All 3 of our girls love playing with the once filled bags, now they serve as a purse or backpack to store all their little toys and dolls in. Thank you Energized by Ebony so much for helping us to create sweet moments during the darkest times of our life.

Eric and Keyara Schevenius
Sisters: Aliyah and Hadley

When we found out that my son had a brain tumor and that is was stage 3 Anaplastic Ependymoma, we were very afraid of what was to come!! Thanks to Energized by Ebony, who was the first group to reach out to us, we were somewhat prepared for what was to come and our son was set with things to do! I was even given a mom bag to take with me full of things I never would have even thought to pack! We were truly blessed by this group in our time of need!!

Jennifer Rosman

Energized by Ebony bags are such a great treat for my 2.5 year old daughter, Alaythea. We go to the Lutheran Hematology Oncology Outpatient Clinic every week for several hours at a time while she receives chemotherapy treatments to fight Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). These bags are such a fun distraction to both of us as she spends her time hooked up to and IV poll receiving treatments. We both look forward to the surprised in the bags every month!

Here is a picture of Ava at the hospital enjoying her December activity bag from Energized by Ebony! She gets so excited to get a bag each month. During the hospital visit she plays the games, colors and does the activities inside. These wonderful bags help keep her mind off the stressful hospital visits. Thank you Energized by Ebony!!!!!!

Energized by Ebony has touched our lives and our hearts in so many ways but I will just share a few. After meeting Beth Ann at the Home and Garden show in 2016, she shared with me her daughter Ebony’s story and why she started Energized by Ebony. Then Beth Ann shared what Energized by Ebony does to help children fighting cancer. I then told her about my grandson, Brayden, she took our information and a few weeks later we received a box in the mail which contained a “New Diagnosis Kit.” That was a very exciting day for a little boy who loves to receive mail! However, this box not only contained fun stuff for Brayden but also a bag for his mom and his grandma. Their bags were full of little things a caregiver may need/want on an unexpected overnight stay at the hospital. Those bags have truly come in handy as well. Beth Ann also came to the hospital to deliver an “Unexpected Admit Bag” (back pack) from Energized by Ebony full of life saving activities that Brayden could do while stuck inside a hospital room waiting out a fever. The Energized by Ebony monthly bags Brayden receives each month at the Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Department are full of fun things to do while he sits on the hospital bed hooked to an IV pole receiving his chemo. Brayden looks forward to those bags and his mom and I are very glad for the extra distraction as well. I took Brayden to the Energized by Ebony Wiffleball Tournament in September of 2016. To this day Brayden is still talking about that day and how Beth Ann walked him onto the fields and all the players stopped and let him hit the ball. He thought he was king that day and it was big deal for a four year old. He has been practicing hitting the ball so he will be ready for this year’s tournament. At Christmas time 2016 our family was pretty disappointed that we were not going to be able to have pictures done with Santa Claus due to Brayden’s numbers being way too low to be exposed to all the people and children standing in line at a mall. Then we found out Energized by Ebony was hosting a “Cookie Walk and Pictures w/Santa at Beth Ann’s church. It was arranged so our family was the first ones on Santa’s lap and out the door before any other children arrived. Energized by Ebony then sent us home with some amazing cookies. Although I was willing to pay for the cookies and Santa pictures, Beth Ann and Energized by Ebony would not allow that. The memories we were able to make that day and the day of the Wiffleball tournament would not have been possible without Energized by Ebony. We feel that the best and most important things we receive are the prayers and support from all of you. We thank each and every one of you for the prayers and donations that you have made and we are grateful that God placed Beth Ann in my path that day and she is now and forever part of our family. May God bless each and every one of you!

Thank you, Brayden Beam’s Family