Barbour County 4-H'er Stephanie Santilli wanted to give people hope through homemade scarves
Every nine minutes, someone is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The five-year survival rate is only 10%. Pancreatic patients and survivors need hope. Stephanie Santilli's family was impacted when her uncle passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2007. He truly appreciated homemade items that were given to him. Santilli wanted to give others hope, so she stepped up to coordinate the "Purple Scarf of Hope project."
After receiving a My Hands to Larger Service mini-grant, Santilli set forth to recruit volunteers to make scarves and secure additional donations to support the project. She distributed yarn and supplies to the volunteers, collected the finished scarves, and distributed the scarves to pancreatic cancer survivors.
In total, Santilli sent out "Purple Scarves of Hope" to twenty-seven different people in ten states. Half of the scarf recipients were new to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). Thus, this project was able to connect these people with PanCAN services.
In addition to the My Hands to Larger Service mini-grant, this project was financially supported by private donations and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The My Hands to Larger Service Mini-grants in West Virginia started in 2020 and funded by the West Virginia 4-H All Stars.
Learn more about the mini-grant program