My retreat at Little Pink Houses of Hope was one of the most meaningful experiences in my and my husband’s life. After nearly one year of diagnosis, treatments and trying to keep things together for our family, we finally got the chance to just be. To take time to relax, enjoy one another and take in the beauty that this world has to offer, was truly healing.
I was a teacher for 20 years and have been in social work for the last four years. I have always been on the giving side and haven’t had many times where I have experienced what it is like to receive. The feeling of complete joy and gratefulness that I felt during my retreat brought a new sense of what I do in my job every day. I have a whole new perspective in what it must mean to the clients that I serve to have someone there to love and support them in their struggles. I came back to my job with a renewed passion for helping others.
The best thing of the whole experience was seeing the joy in my husband’s heart and the new perspective that he now has. We have gained a new meaning in the concept of “paying it forward!” We made lifelong friendships and gained a whole new family!
I choose to support Little Pink, because I want everyone who has walked this road to be able to experience the generosity of this amazing organization. Your support will ensure that more families will be able to understand exactly what Little Pink truly means to a family that is going through this difficult situation.
Little Pink is unique, because it is so personal. There are many charities that do a lot of good to raise awareness and research for breast cancer, but few have a way to be able to put real names and experiences to life. During our retreat, we never felt pressured to do anything other than what we felt we would make our week special. We were encouraged to make our retreat our own. The activities that were offered to us were those that helped us to feel empowered to continue on in our journey. The people that we met; from other families who were in similar situations as ours, to the amazing staff of “voluntars”, will forever be held in our hearts. Words can’t describe…to know it is to love it. And we, my husband and I, truly love Little Pink!!
Lisa Zakowski from South Bend, IN
New Smyrna Beach Retreat 2015