We recently connected with Peggie Sherry and have shared our conversation below.
Peggie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is defined as the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties, toughness. All of us at one time or another face difficulties it could come in the form of bullying; death of a loved one; divorce; financial/work struggles, parenting issues; school stress; health challenges; or an endless number of other causes. What separates those who take to their bed, pull the covers over their eyes and those who get out of bed, put one foot in front of the other, face the challenge and move forward? Maybe it is perspective. When you have a broad view of your surroundings, and the struggles others are facing your situation may not be as dire as you think. Travelling to me is the greatest education we can give ourselves and our families. To see how others cope in situations, which to most of us, are unimaginable sheds light on how truly blessed we are. I think they most important perspective is to see that someone always has it worse than you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My work, my passion and drive for over 20 years has been to work directly with cancer patients. We like to say at Faces of Courage Foundation that we are the ‘Fun’ part of cancer as we provide services directly to the cancer patients and their families. All the programs we provide are FREE to the participants. Our services are palliative in support and focus on developing strong positive attitudes towards recovery and good health management. We currently have served over 12,000 cancer families with the help of over 1,600+ active volunteers.
Faces of Courage provides the following Programs for people diagnosed with any type of Cancer and Blood Disorders:
Kid/Young Adult Camper Outings (Educational/Recreational)
Adult Camper Outings (sporting events, theatre and museums)
Adult Adventure Outings (overnight rustic canoe, kayak, hiking)
Virtual EduCare sessions on cancer treatment, the mind-body-spirit approach to integrative medicine, improving mental health, stress reduction, health and wellbeing
Virtual Meet Ups – Themed virtual support meetings for adults
Virtual Enriching Arts Classes – online art classes (supplies provided) for adults
Women’s Cancer Weekend Retreats
Minority Women Cancer Weekend Retreats
Teen/Young Adult Cancer Camp Weekend (ages 13 and up)
Santa’s Workshop Weekend for Children with Cancer (ages 2-12) and their well siblings
Collaboration with H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and University South FL on numerous cancer research grants
We are able to provide programs at no cost to participants through the generosity of corporate sponsors, civic, social and service organizations, individual donors, grants, fundraisers, and bequests. Over 92% of each donation directly touches those fighting cancer. The programs encourage a sense of community rather than isolation, with a primary goal of helping cancer patients navigate their way through the treatment process and thrive as survivors.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Someone I highly respected once told me he liked that I wasn’t so smart. I kinda looked at him sideways and said ‘Huh?’. He said it was a compliment. My answer was ‘How so?’. He elaborated that he knew all kinds of brilliant people who came up with fabulous ideas but were so smart they found hundreds of ways their ideas wouldn’t work. So. they never tried any of them. He said ‘Your smart and come up with ideas all the time and just go out and create them. Instead of overthinking them and talking yourself out of doing them’. Maybe that is the key to success just not being too smart. I like to think that many of us jump off cliffs and build our wings on the way down. The sight of the pavement rushing towards you is your motivation to work fast before you hit the pavement.
Many people ask if I knew 20 years ago what I know now about starting/running a non profit would I do it all over again. My answer would be when I started I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t know that the majority of my time is spent learning, trying new things and sometimes falling flat on my face. The key is to get back up and keep going. Always go as far as you can go then take one step further.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I am overwhelmed, I think about Sandy, one of my adult campers, she is my inspiration. About 5 years ago I got calls from a couple campers and volunteers letting me know that Sandy was dying and they asked if would I go visit her in the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital her doctor and nurses met me at her door to let me know how dire the situation was and how Sandy didn’t have much time left, her cancer had advanced and her fight was coming to an end. With a heavy heart I opened her door and walked in. As soon as Sandy saw me she screamed out “I’m not dying Miss Peggie, I’m coming back to camp”. We hugged and chatted for a while then said our goodbyes. For two years, Sandy came back to camp in a wheelchair, thin and frail. Then the third year she was back with a cane and on oxygen. Each year as soon as she got out of her car at camp she would scream “I’m here Miss Peggie”. This year she arrived with no cane, no oxygen and is back to a healthy weight. I don’t doubt that one day Sandy and I will be attending her Doctor’s funeral together. Feeling overwhelmed? Remember Sandy’s story of a hope and determination that created outcome that was at the time unimaginable.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://facesofcourage.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cancercamp
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggie-sherry-140841/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@facesofcouragefoundation-c3192
Image Credits
Pam Knowles
