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Spring 2018 : Jewelry designer supports MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital
Jewelry designer supports MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital
Jewelry designer Kendra Scott has supported MD Anderson since 2014. To date, Kendra Scott has raised more than $170,000 for childhood cancer research and patient care programs at MD Anderson.
Pediatric cancer patient Katsie Brock and Richard Gorlick, division head, Pediatrics at MD Anderson, accept a check from Kendra Scott representative Mackenzie Cash. Photo by Gini Reed
Since 2014, MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital patients and their families have created their own pieces of jewelry, at no cost, at Kendra Scott's "Kendra Cares" events, which bring the brand's customizable Color Bar™ experience to pediatric hospitals across the country.
Through its national Child Cancer Awareness campaign in September 2015 and 2016, the Austin-based fashion brand donated 20% of sales to cancer research and patient care programs at MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital.
When the 2017 campaign was postponed due to Hurricane Harvey, Kendra Scott made a $50,000 donation to MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital in January.
Scott’s support of MD Anderson began in 2013, when her company sold a Children’s Art Project card designed by Regan Dunman of New Braunfels, Texas, who was 14 at the time. Now Regan is a freshman at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where she is studying Community, Family & Addiction Sciences and hopes to counsel those with eating disorders.
Kendra Scott also hosts pop-up shops at MD Anderson every other month, offering MD Anderson staff an opportunity to shop and purchase items at a 15% discount.
Katsie Brock, 15, of Celeste, Texas, has been an MD Anderson patient since she was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a genetic neurological disorder, at age 2. In 2016, she was diagnosed with astrocytoma, a type of brain cancer.
Katsie was thrilled to be selected as MD Anderson’s patient ambassador for Kendra Scott's 2017 Child Cancer Awareness campaign.
“Kendra Scott is fun even though chemo is hard,” she says.
As an ambassador, Katsie enjoyed a VIP experience with her mother, complete with manicures and pedicures, a photo shoot and a shopping spree at a Kendra Scott store in Houston. Her photo appeared on social media and with employees as part of the campaign promotion.
“What inspires me most about Katsie is her smile,” says Scott. “Here is a girl who has been through so much in her young life, yet she exudes enough joy to light up the whole room. Katsie is an inspiration, and we are honored to share her story.”
MD Anderson is pleased to have developed an alliance with the fashion brand, says Richard Gorlick, M.D., division head, Pediatrics.
“We’re grateful for Kendra Scott’s support of our patients over the years,” says Gorlick. “This special program not only offers a brief distraction from the young patients’ daily struggles, but also brings smiles to their faces as they make their own Kendra Scott creations.”
To date, Kendra Scott has raised more than $170,000 for childhood cancer research and patient care programs at MD Anderson.
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