Becoming a Firefly Sister is easy. Visit our website at fireflysisterhood.org and simply click “Get Support” if you are looking to talk with support or “ Become a Guide” if you want to volunteer. Guide Sisters are women who have experienced diagnosis, treatment, surgery or reconstruction and are willing to offer their support to another. Guide Sisters complete our orientation and training before being matched. Training focuses on providing the skills need to be a successful guide including emotional mentorship; guides gain confidence in empathic listening and insightful questioning. It is a key part of our program that Guide Sisters understand, and are prepared for, the realities of helping another.
How does the matching process work? When you join the Firefly Sisterhood, we ask you a few simple questions that help us create an appropriate match. After a short personal conversation with our program manager we begin the matching process. Our preference is always to connect women with similar life circumstances. For example, if you live in Minneapolis and have young children, we would hope to match you with another Firefly Sister in Minneapolis with young children. When a match is created, both women are given each other’s contact details. It is then up to the Firefly Sisters to connect. This can happen via phone, text, or email.
Once matched, Firefly Sisters are free to explore their relationship at their own discretion. As a community based program the potential for face-to-face conversations is real. It may result in one reassuring phone call, or could become an ongoing, enduring friendship. Are all connections one-to-one? Our primary concern is to create one-to-one connections. However, we regularly organize social gatherings so we can all share stories, support each other and enjoy new friendships. The Firefly Sisterhood is built on the strength of women and the more we connect, the stronger we become.
This Is Living With Cancer