Watch the RoL calendar of events for the second Saturday of every month BreastFest and the second Wednesday of every month Create4Life in the RoL studio with a reservation and on Zoom. Special Studio classes and Ribbons of Life events and also posted.
Create4Life is from 10 am to 11:30. It is part of Ribbons of Life’s grassroots efforts in providing breast cancer education, advocacy, emotional and social support within Ventura County. For more information, please call 805-308-3456 or email to join this event.
Create4Life meets to create items which help us support our thrivers. We knit, crochet, quilt, sew, sketch, paint, write or create other projects. You are invited to share whatever project you want to work on. If you don’t have a project, there’s plenty to see, learn and do!
Create4Life is a free, fun and welcoming event. The Create4Life Studio located at 1500 Palma Drive, Ventura. For more details, contact us via email or call.
First Create4Life Studio Event 2019
The Create4Life Studio exists due to the loving HEELS & WHEELS riders who believe in Ribbons Keep-the-Money-Local campaign and host fund raisers to benefit our mission. It is a home for our projects, a place to house our supplies, our “Gifts from the Heart” and provides a place for thrivers, supporters and friends to come together to relax, rejuvenate, heal and create something with meaning. The studio was established in April of 2019 with the major donations provided by the Ventura HOG Chapter #0366 HEELS & WHEELS. An OPEN HOUSE at Barrister Executive Suites was held in October 2019.
Under the expert organization and guidance of Jo Ann Kirkby the Create4Life Studio is filled with the loving energy of creative teachers. They donate their time and skills to help RoL’s thrivers/survivors enhance the quality of their life through creative activities. A BIG Thank You to Lorraine Shallenberger, Jo Ann Kirkby, and Lisa Barreto and the other creative souls who share their time and talents.
Lorraine Shallenberger, Watercolor Class
Jo Ann Kirkby, Vision Board & Bird Mobile
Lisa Barreto, CZT – Zentangle
Anything is possible when you’re sowing the seeds of love.
Thank you, Lynne Woods and the Ventura Chapter of the American Sewing Guild who lovingly made designer post mastectomy breast pillows to help provide comfort to our women during their post-surgical recovery!
“Members of this talented group are also interested in sewing more items to assist our women while encouraging ALL women in Ventura County that every stich matters!” — Art & Jenny’s Sewing Center, Ventura.
The Power of Possibility
In it’s infancy, from Ventura to Santa Paula, from Oxnard to Camarillo, at cancer walks, in classrooms, and at special events, this quilt got around!
Our Ribbons of Life PHOTO QUILT project is built from the heart of our organization and can be seen in our office, aka “gathering room” at Barrister Executive Suites.
Stories Through Pictures. Behind each smiley patch is a life story. We hear them from survivors, husbands, boyfriends, siblings, children and caregivers who also endure the breast cancer challenge. They live with someone who has it, knows someone who survived it, or misses someone who died from it. This sharing can be personally and socially healing to any community.
The power of possibility lives within this quilt as it holds many public benefits:
- It provides a voice behind those faces touched by breast cancer throughout Ventura County.
- It provides hope to those diagnosed with breast cancer, their families, friends and those in the community by sending the message that they are not alone.
- It includes photos with spouses, mothers, children–even grandchildren allowing them to be acknowledged.
- It promotes education and advocacy to both genders and cultures.
- It provides a human dimension to breast cancer.
- It serves as an ice breaker to converse openly about the subject, ask questions, learn, and exchange inspirational stories.
- It serves as an educational tool in classrooms and at numrous organizational events.
- It conveys a we’re-all-in-this-together message.
- It provides a sense of community to breast cancer survivors when they contribute their photos, sew the squares together, carry what they’ve sewn in cancer survivor walks, and watch people smile when they spot their photo on the quilt.
- It projects light to what is sometimes considered a dark subject.
- It emphasizes positive thoughts of WHAT CAN BE DONE removing the focus from what can’t be done.
In 2007, Debbie Zahner our “Quilt Lady”, along with Sylvia Rosolek unveil the start of RoL’s inspiring and educational Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Quilt !
It is brave to be involved.