 Welcome to Serving Locally with Me, your host, Michelle Dynas, the podcast where we spotlight service in the Longmont and surrounding communities. All right, let's connect with my good friend Jill that I met at the campground this summer and we were talking and she was telling me about this wonderful organization she's part of Tenaciously Teal. So I'm really honored and happy that she is here today with us. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. So we'll just start out with who are you and a little bit about you and then just what is Tenaciously Teal and just a quick overview. Okay. I'm Jill Phillips. I had cancer in 2016 and then I had recurrence in 2019 and I was given a care pack from Tenaciously Teal and I had no idea what it was and I opened it up and it had all sorts of goodies. I got it from my dear friend Carla. She's the director at Longmont Meals on Wheels and so I was like, what is this organization about? And so I looked into it more and it's based out of Oklahoma City but they reach every state in the US and they give out care packs to cancer fighters and they have lotions and lip balms and little tissues, some port pillows. If someone has a port, they have port pillows and some of them. And so yeah, I started talking to the founder, Tara Warren, and we connected and I sell Avon so I started giving her Avon and then I would give her discounts if she ordered Avon for the care packs with lip balms and the little mini lotions. And so it's been kind of a whirlwind. We've been involved a lot. We've gone to Oklahoma City three times this year to be a part of some of their events and it's been amazing. That's fantastic. Can you give us a little bit of background about Tenaciously Teal? So Tara had cancer in I believe 2012. Is it a specific type of cancer that they reach or any cancer? They reach out to children, men and women. That was one of the things that we liked. It was different. It didn't just focus on breast cancer or my kind of cancer, which was leukemia. Tara had ovarian cancer. So when she was doing her treatments, she had family visiting her, family giving her things during treatments and she saw people around her that weren't getting support. And so during her treatment, she actually would give things away during her chemo treatments to just let people know that there was someone that cared. So after she finished her treatments and she started Tenaciously Teal and Teal is the color for ovarian cancer. And she wants everyone to be Tenacious during their fight. So yeah, she started Tenaciously Teal and it's expanded. Like I said, it reaches all 50 states. They've given out over 44,000 since it started, 44,000 care packs and then 6,000 just this year. So they're based out of Oklahoma City, but then they deliver them or send them out to 50 states and like I get care packs like a bulk, you know, big box and give them out to Rocky Mountain Cancer Center and anyone I know from work, when I was working at Meals on Wheels, if anyone had cancer there, I was giving out care packs personally. And then I put it on Facebook and Nextdoor. So people just let me know if they know someone or if they have, they're going through cancer. Sure on Nextdoor too. Personally, yeah, not, I mean, yeah, I just put it out there that I have cancer care packs. Out of Oklahoma City, they actually do a bunch of other stuff. They reach out and do, they help support people that if they need gas money to get to treatments, they sometimes drive people to treatments. They've given out a car to someone who needed it. They help with, I think they help with rent sometimes groceries. They help with groceries a lot. And then they have brave shaves. So the brave shaves are for people to take control of losing their hair during treatments. So if they're starting to lose their hair, they set up a brave shave at Nationally Teal and they can go in and they have someone special there. Like they have a free gal that comes in or a couple of different gals that come in and they do the shave. And then there's family members that will join in and do shaves with them. So yeah. So thankfully I didn't lose my hair, but the people there that have done it, I mean, they say it's like empowering to do it yourself instead of just letting it fall out. Yeah. Yeah, I can, yeah, I understand that. My mother-in-law, she just, she was, it was fault starting to fall out and she was a hairdresser herself. And so she just one time, she just went in and just shaved her head. I'm just done with it, just done. Not worried about it anymore. Yeah. So after that, they do empowerment shoots. So they doll them up, they do their makeup and, you know, sometimes a scarf or whatever they want. I mean, a lot of them are, they're just in their bald, beautiful selves and they, they, they do pictures and, and stuff with their family and friends that are there. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Lainey and I both cut off 12 inches of our hair over the summer. I ain't never seeing that because your hair is super long when I met you. It was super long and yeah. So yeah, we, I even shaved it halfway up so we could get more hair to donate. But yeah, we did that and I've done it nine times now and this is Lainey's second time. That's great. It's just something that we do. Yeah. Just to help people feel, you know, like the normal, I guess. Yes. What is your focus at Tenacious Leeteal? Yeah. Just to reach out and give care packs to the fighters and to, I mean, I think Tara's biggest thing is to remind people that there's somebody that cares because there are people out there that don't have family or support. So you can reach out through the, through the website or through Facebook if you want a care pack. I have care packs that I can get about locally. And just to make sure people know that they're not fighting alone, there's always a personalized note in the care packs. I don't know if you want me to show them. Yeah. Go ahead. So they have, they usually have the women's, there's women's and men's and they do, they do offer, offer them for kids. I just don't get those because I don't really have any connections with any children's hospitals or anything. There's usually fuzzy socks. And then there's always, I'm trying to find it, there's always a little love note, a little note that says someone's thinking of them and it's personalized. This one says, be strong and do not give up. You've got this, stay strong. So, you know, everyone gets a little note and then there's a little flyer about Nationally Teal and the organization and how it started with Tara's battle. And this one has a word search. There's a pen. So you're sitting there doing chemo or something. Yeah. There's little things to do and then a little Gatorade packet, just a little boost of energy. There's usually granola bars, a little bag of tissue. Yeah. There's all sorts of goodies. So women's usually have like base cream and a couple of things that guys don't get. I don't think the guys have any things different. There's a mask in this one. There's a mask, but yeah, granola bars. This one has a cross. Sometimes they have crosses. I mean, she is a Christian. So, yeah, a little cross with a little inspirational saying there. That's always good. Awesome. So who are you trying to reach with your organization? Anyone fighting cancer that wants a little love, support? I've tried to, the couple of the people that I've given to here, I've tried to kind of been like, if you need anything else, let me know. There hasn't been anyone yet that's reached out to me, but you know, I'm willing to pray with someone or give them little encouragement through texts. So yeah. Sometimes that makes a huge difference. Yeah. Just a little bit of encouragement, just a little bit of, okay, I'm not alone. Somebody's thinking of me at this moment when I'm struggling. Yeah. So, I mean, getting care packs out to whoever needs them. Men, women, children, yeah, any age, any cancer. That's awesome. What is your boundaries, your service area, or do, I mean, obviously it's, it's national, so it just doesn't matter. No. And you were in the US, I don't think she takes a sense of need to Canada or anything, but yeah, all 50 states have been officially reached this year. That's awesome. Yep. What makes the work of tenaciously teal different than other similar serving organizations? Like I said earlier, it doesn't focus on one kind of cancer. So that's the biggest thing that my husband, I talked about last night, that they reach anyone. I mean, it can be prostate cancer, it could, you know, be brain cancer. I mean, it just doesn't matter. Any stage, any, exactly. Yeah. Anyone battling, anyone fighting, um, any type of cancer can get a care pack. That's awesome. Yeah. Just a little bit of support. Yep. And care. Yep. It's wonderful. So what are your guys's greatest needs? Anything that comes in the care pack. Lip balms, the fuzzy socks are always a big need. Like I said, we, they do have care packs for kids. So, you know, kids socks, little toys, even little like matchbox cars. Yeah. Um, and then money, always money to help with, you know, gas or help with the, the organization to just expand more. They, um, they do amazing work, not just in Oklahoma city, but around the country. What does it take to be a distributor of the care packs? I don't know. I just asked Tara if I could start doing it. That's what it takes. And we had the connection and I'd been, we'd been supporting one of her, um, their big fundraiser over the year. We'd been supporting that. So I asked her if I could just start doing them here. So I've been doing it for about, um, a little over a year. And I've, I think I've given out over 60. Wow. I think I'm over 60 now. That's awesome. That's fantastic. Um, so are there any events coming up or opportunities? Um, volunteer opportunities are hard because they're out of Oklahoma city. But when I was there, I got to help, um, organize and, uh, count. Um, some of the, some of the things that have been donated, there was like this huge bin. So I got to inventory. Yes. Yes. Um, it makes a difference though. Very important. So it's fun to be there and be a part need to be done. Yes. So it's fun to be there and be a part of the every day. And then I got to, um, they had a golf tournament that was a fundraiser locally in Oklahoma city. So I got to be a part of that. I got to volunteer and go around and take pictures or the golf cart around. So that was, that was fun. Um, but their biggest event of the year is called care packs and cocktails. So they have, um, usually about 30 survivors that are modeling for this event. And Tara talked to me into doing it this year. So I was there, we were, we were there. My husband, I were there in July and, um, it's not something I'll do again. Never say never. No, I like to be behind the scenes. I hear that. But, um, you get pampered. Oh my gosh. I wear my, uh, fake eyelashes for the first time in my life. Does it make you feel so pretty? I was feeling pretty. Um, they give you an outfit and you get, yeah, you feel, you get your hair done, makeup, everything. And yeah, you definitely feel, feel pretty queen for a little bit. Yes. So through that, that's usually in July. It's, um, July 20th of 2024. Um, everything's online, um, to, I mean, it's live. So you can donate through that or bid on the auction items. But that's our biggest fundraiser of the year. That's fantastic. Yeah. So, um, right. Awesome. Uh, how can people contact and find out more about Tenaciously Teal? Um, so they can contact me through the email that you'll give them, or Jim may say it. You can say it because some people don't, um, get, sometimes it's, it's audio that they're listening to. Yep. So it's Beauty by Jill. Um, Beauty, B, Y, J, Y, L at gmail.com is my email. And then Tenaciously Teal's website is tteal, tteal.org. Um, their Facebook is actually all spelled out Tenaciously Teal. Um, and so you can reach out to me for a care pack or if you want to donate, you can go to their website, um, check out. Um, they always have, um, random raffle things, um, that they're offering right now. That's a trip to, um, I think it's Cancun. Nice. For, yeah. I think I saw that. You buy a raffle ticket. I think you posted it. I think I probably shared it. Yeah. There's so many things. Yeah. So I think it's $25 for a ticket and then you can win a seven day trip. Awesome. To, to, um, Mexico. Yeah. All inclusive. It looks like a beautiful place. Nice. Yeah. So let's see. And I'll have all of that in the QR code, um, serving parking partnerships as, as always too. And then in the show notes, I'll put all the stuff as well to connect you guys. Yeah. Yeah. So I think, um, yeah, I think that's that it. Awesome. Is there anything else you'd like to add to the conversation that maybe I missed or you just feel that you just need to talk about for a couple minutes? I'll talk about Tara. Okay. Tara is the founder of Tenaciously Teal and she is probably one of the most giving people I've ever met. Her heart is full of love, wants to reach anyone and everyone who's battling any kind of cancer and, um, yeah, she does it basically 24 seven. She finally hired someone to help her in the office. Hi Cameron. Um, but yeah, Tara's very inspirational. She's, um, can't been cancer free for I think nine years now and she's just a beautiful human inside and out. That's awesome. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being on the show today, Jill. Thank you Michelle. No, that was great. I, that was fantastic and I'm, I'm excited to see, um, what else you guys do in the future. And I, I love that it's, it doesn't matter, you know, um, I like that there's certain, you know, there's, there's certain organizations that are specific, but I love just the general, just the general, just helping. Yeah. So I love that. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate you having me. Absolutely. And thank you for, um, continuing the, the service of, of giving out the care packs and caring for people. I know how it feels. So I'm right there with them. Thank you so much. Thank you, Michelle. Yeah. Thank you to my guests, my listeners and my supporters serving together. We can strengthen our community. Please like and subscribe, do all those other things. You know, you got to do them because that's the easiest way that you can serve right now. All right. Now go connect with others and be a blessing.