End of Fiscal Year 2024

Urgent Request from Cactus Cancer Society

You know better than anyone that our programs fill up quickly and our waitlists are growing.

Our Art Workshops are filling up faster than ever, sometimes within minutes. These workshops foster connection and relieve isolation – so well, in fact, that we need to offer additional programs to meet the growing number of young adults facing cancer who want to participate. 

The situation has become critical: We have a growing waitlist of young adults who are being turned away from the programs they want to join. We know you agree – placing young adults facing the darkest, loneliest days of their lives on the waitlist simply isn’t good enough.

In this pivotal time, we urgently need help funding additional Art Workshops. Before the close of our fiscal year on June 30th, we need to reach our $8,250 goal. It’s no small ask, but we need to provide 165 additional spaces to support young adults like Gabriella as they navigate cancer. 

 “Thank you so much for donating and making art night possible! It is such a welcome distraction during cancer treatment, greatly boosted my mood, gave me something to look forward to, and allowed me to connect with others going through cancer.” 

-Gabriella, Art Workshop Participant

By showing your support today, you’ll help expand our Art Workshops, clear the waitlists, and ensure young adults facing cancer get the support they are reaching for in the upcoming year. If you are able, please, make a contribution today and help us clear the waitlists!

DONATE

Stephen’s Sanctuary: June 2024

Hey friends! 
 
 
Are you staying cool? Do you have to worry about cicadas? Does it feel like half the year is already over? What happened? Here’s what’s happened recently in my neck of the woods.
 
 
Going Home Again
This month I returned to one of my old haunts. I went back to perform at an open mic I went to once upon a time in my pre-cancer life. It felt surreal and also wonderful to have the worlds of the past & present collide . People who knew me back then and people who know me now in one room, supporting me. Sometimes you can go home again. If you’re able to have one of these types of experiences, I highly recommend it.    
 
 
The MO-vies
 
In this day & age, I’m thankful that we have the technology and the option to just stay home and watch movies. I can pause and go to the bathroom. I can pick my own food and drink. I can check stuff on my phone or work while it’s playing. I can decide “ah I’m not into this” and then switch to watching ’90s commercials on YouTube. At the same time, there’s something about a trip to the movie theater that’s still pretty golden. Especially the kind of arthouse small theaters that do cool events, fun themes for the month and screen cult classics that aren’t easily available on streaming services. I wish everyone had one of these within driving distance. It’s worth a trip.
 
 
 
 
Speaking of film – there’s a new documentary on Cyndi Lauper out there. Which led me to listening to ‘She’s So Unusual” (and her effervescent song from The Goonies soundtrack) for the billionth time. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is probably one of the most overplayed and synced songs of my lifetime. And yet unlike a lot of songs that have been played a ton and used in a million movies, shows and commercials – somehow when I hear that opening synth whooooooosh ~!- it’s still like someone just gave me my morning coffee with a shot of espresso and a gummi shark in it. It’s just so damn joyful. it’s fun to see her and her band perform it in the moment when it was still fresh. They look and sound like they don’t wanna stop playing it. Do something unusual and have some fun this month, when your working day is done. 
 
 
Peace, love, empathy,
Stephen