Last week our good friend Mary Flaherty stopped by to show the dollie ladies her latest project.  Mary recently spoke at a breast cancer symposium at Notre Dame, and during that visit she met the director of a cancer support group called River Bend Cancer Services whose motto is “Help and Hope Around the Bend”.  This wonderful organization provides financial and emotional support of all kinds to women and their families who are impacted by cancer in the northern Indiana area in which they live.  Mary was told about an upcoming fundraising event that River Bend was hosting called, “Bras Around the Bend”, where local artisans donate decorated bras (!! yes bras!!) for the event’s live and silent auction!  Mary immediately said, “I’m not an artist, but I will create a bra of some sort for your auction!”
Well, last week Mary brought her creation to our dollie meeting, and it was an absolutely beautiful piece of art.  Mary’s bra was decorated with hundreds of unique buttons of every texture, shape, size, and color,  donated by her wide circle of friends.
Mary’s Button bra inspired the dollie ladies who decided to decorate a bra themselves to support River Bend Cancer Services. Â Teresa Akerblom quickly got to work – you could see the wheels in her mind spinning with ideas – and hit upon the concept of a Flower bra. Â She hit the stores that afternoon in search of a green bra (best for a flower background) and came across an Oscar the Grouch bra at Macy’s! Â She got to work on the project, and at the following dollie meeting all of the ladies added their own contribution. Â Denise Melas volunteered to model our Flower bra entry:
After stitching the bra onto canvas board, we shipped it off to South Bend, Indiana.  Maybe you think you need one of these pieces of art yourself?  Feel free to enter a bid!  The Bras Around the Bend event is September 6.  To enter a bid or simply to make a financial donation to this worthy organization contact:  Nancy@riverbendcancerservices.org or google River Bend Cancer Services and click on their website’s donation site.