The Spark That Launched…A Teaparty?
By Jennie Camp Hudgins
Do you remember that song that goes, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…..And, soon all those around can warm up in its glowing…..” ? I learned it in my church’s youth program. Very 70’s…sort of our very own Woodstock song! These days we’d open our cell phones, hold them upward, and sway like reeds in the breeze! “Pass it on….pass it on….”
Last year, we launched this project with little more than a spark….an email and a flyer attachment announcing Blue Hydrangea Tea Party as a fundraising tool for ovarian cancer awareness. Elizabeth, with her marketing background, began to brainstorm ways to get the word out. She researched agencies that might be interested in our idea and began the tedious task of contacting each one. One of the first hints of recognition came from the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry in New York, and we communicated with them, answering their questions about this new and different way to raise money for the cause. As the website went online, our dream to make our tea party concept a reality took a baby step forward. We were literally learning as we went. Before too long, a party registration popped up in my inbox. In an instant, my emotions overwhelmed me. Candace Carberry, from New York, was registering a party through our website. She wrote, “I’m excited to host my first Blue Hydrangea Tea Party to continue the fight against ovarian cancer.” It was like something out of a Hallmark movie! She had no way of knowing that she was the very first official Blue Hydrangea Tea Party hostess, and her words resonated in my head, as if she had spoken them out loud. I don’t know how many of you believe in divine providence, but I fully believe that it was at work here. There could not have been a better story about the beginnings of Blue Hydrangea Tea Party than to have this ovarian cancer survivor as our first hostess. But, the best was yet to come!
The weeks passed quickly, and we were dizzy with anticipation and a little anxiety as May 13, 2006 was in our sights. We had known so little about timing our campaign blitz, and it seemed that everything was happening at once. Elizabeth and I wanted to have a special inaugural Blue Hydrangea Tea Party with family and friends, so preparations were underway for that. All the while, we were talking about Blue Hydrangea Tea Party to anyone who would listen, and inquiries were still coming in the week before the event itself. On the Saturday before Mothers’ Day, we gathered to celebrate the legacy of a great lady - Ann Camp McCune. My sister; Elizabeth’s mother. We enjoyed a lovely day in Columbia, SC with a clear blue sky - like blue hydrangeas. It was as if Ann was saying, “I’m right here with you, enjoying this wonderful moment.” Indeed, it was a very emotional day for all of us - the full spectrum kind! It was a day that I didn’t want to end. So, when it did, I took a deep breath and began to check daily for the reports that would tell the tale. Here was where the story would either soar to a great climax before the Cinderella ending or where it would falter, be ripped out of the proverbial typewriter and tossed in the trash like a crumpled piece of paper!
Day by day, I waited and watched as the reports came in slowly. I continued to hold my breath. The news was mostly good with a little bad - a party that didn’t happen because of unforseen circumstances and a few unreported totals. But, the majority of our hostesses were reporting in and the news was what we had expected. We had realistic goals and believed that anything was better than nothing! It was a week or so before I heard from Candy again. We had such an emotional attachment to her because of her “first hostess” status, so I was eager and anxious to hear from her. When I received her email report, it was deja vu all over again! I felt the chill bumps begin to form as I read the details. She had raised $1000, ironically, for the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry, the first agency to show interest in our tea party concept! I had not known that Candy was an ovarian cancer survivor until I received the report on her party. Her email read, “I was diagnosed three years ago with ovarian cancer, had surgery and chemo, and now I am a success story. My cancer was caught at Stage 1. The tumor had never spread. I know I was granted a miracle. I have pledged to raise $1000 a year for the Registry.” Candy’s story was so encouraging. And, as I read her email, I could not believe how blessed we were to have her play such an important role in our story. She wrote, “When I heard about your Blue Hydrangea Tea Party, I knew this was something I had to be a part of…..I pledge myself to the battle against ovarian cancer…..Your fight is now my fight. God Bless you both for the work you do.”
I believe He has. Those who have heard about Blue Hydrangea Tea Party are sharing the concept with others. It does make me want to break out the cell phone! We feel that, with the success of this project, we have been given a mission. We took the spark and got the fire going! Just like Candy, our story didn’t end. We live to fight another day….lift a cup of tea….share laughter and tears….raise awareness for ovarian cancer…..for our sisters….for our mothers…..for our aunts, cousins, and friends….for all the other women we have yet to meet. “Pass it on….pass it on….”
NEXT: HEAR THE DETAILS OF CANDY’S PARTY!