My blog has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 5 seconds.
If not, visit http://blog.kendrascott.com
and update your bookmarks.

Kendra's Philanthropy Wednesdays: Austin's LIVESTRONG Challenge

A few weeks ago on my Philanthropy Wednesday blog, I wrote about Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Day, which celebrates cancer survivors and raises awareness for the disease that has affected millions of people around the world. As I mentioned, I lost my stepfather to cancer, so the LIVESTRONG Foundation is very close to my heart. This year, I am especially proud and excited because Sarah Ott, one of the gals at my office, took part in this past Saturday’s LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin.

Sarah was part of Team Stanley, a group of 97 people who got up before the sun rose on Saturday morning to walk or run the 5K in celebration of Sarah’s son's close friend, Bret Stanley. Bret was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the young age of 26, but through the advancements of surgery and chemotherapy, he survived. In celebration of his courageous survival, ever since last year, Bret’s family and friends have come together to raise awareness and money for cancer research by participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge. This year’s large and powerful team of 97, seen in the photo below, stood out in bright turquoise shirts amongst the 10,000 people who showed up for the challenge. Bret’s 87-year-old grandfather even ran in the event!

Sarah’s own husband is also a cancer survivor, so the experience was both inspiring and emotional for her. She said the challenge was very moving and emotional because many of the runners or bikers had shirts on depicting names of friends or family members who they had lost to cancer. The challenge also included a touching ceremony at its conclusion, as all of the survivors lined up to receive a yellow rose. The event took place in Austin, and started on the 1st Street Bridge and went down South Congress Avenue, where Sarah and the thousands of runners and walkers passed right by the new Kendra Scott retail store (coming soon)! Sarah could not say enough about how powerful, amazing, and moving the event was, and she says she'll never miss it from now on. Way to go Sarah! We are all so proud of you at Kendra Scott!