Serve

You’ve probably heard it many times: the mission of Firefly Sisterhood is to foster one-to-one connections between women recently diagnosed with breast cancer and inspirational survivors.

 Creating personal matches is the core of what we do at Firefly, and we’re thrilled to have surpassed 300 matches in less than three years, offering the poignant and powerful inspiration of a Guide to women recently diagnosed with breast cancer. What you may not know is that a significant portion of the work we do goes beyond fostering one-to-one connections.

As Firefly has grown (thanks in large part to so many of our volunteers, supporters, donors, board of directors, and friends), we’re aware that we have the honor of serving our breast cancer community in myriad ways beyond our One-to-One Program. An essential piece of our matching program is the intake interview with our Program Manager, Jenny Cook. Women seeking to be matched and women wanting to become a Guide have a thorough phone conversation with Jenny. During the call, a woman talks through her personal story, including her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as her unique life experience. She can ask questions, share anxieties, and engage in supportive conversation.

For our future Guides, our mandatory peer mentor training gives women the opportunity to develop strong mentoring skills, including empathic listening, insightful questioning, relationship boundaries, and self-care. A woman can use these life skills in many situations beyond her role as a Guide.

With our growth have come more opportunities for people to be involved in Firefly Sisterhood’s social-educational events. We host four Firefly Dialogues each year, giving our friends, supporters, and interested folks the time and space to gather as a community – to learn, explore survivorship issues, and connect. We especially love when women who have been matched choose to meet in person at these events!

You may not know about another way in which we serve. For some women who contact us to request a Guide, it becomes evident that additional support outside of Firefly Sisterhood is appropriate. Having relationships with many resources, both locally and nationally, we’re able to connect women with other organizations or programs whom we know and trust. Before referring, our Program Manager does any necessary pre-screening, ensuring that a woman does not waste her time and energy heading down an unhelpful path. Before referring, we ensure that another organization has the mentor or resource we’re seeking, confirm the availability, and address any eligibility criteria.

At Firefly Sisterhood, we see it as a privilege to serve so many women…thank you for putting your trust in us!