CHRIS MORELLI/THE EXPRESS Traci Fotorny is the founder of “Boxes of Hope,” a breast cancer non-profit organization located in Clinton County. Fotorny poses with one of the boxes in Lock Haven’s Triangle Park.
LOCK HAVEN — For those battling breast cancer, the journey is an emotional one.
One local woman is doing her part to make sure that people who are receiving treatment for breast cancer know that they aren’t alone. Traci Fotorny of Mill Hall founded “Boxes of Hope,” a breast cancer non-profit that sends care packages to those battling the disease.
“Boxes of Hope walks alongside other women — and men — who are currently going through breast cancer treatments to encourage them and to let them know they are not alone,” Fotorny said. “I wanted to pay forward the kindness and encouragement that I received during my own journey through breast cancer.”
Fotorny understands the battle. She is a breast cancer survivor.
“I was diagnosed in October of 2017. I had a great support system of friends, family and church. They brought meals, and usually when someone stopped by with a meal, they brought a little something,” Fotorny said.
One of the “little somethings” was a pair of fuzzy socks. Those fuzzy socks, Fotorny explained, really made an impact.
“The socks had a mouse or something on them. They were cute and they probably cost a dollar. But when you’re going through something like cancer, those little things mean a lot. So you would have thought she gave me a hundred bucks. Now, I make sure I put a pair of cute socks in each box. It’s symbolic to me,” Fotorny said.
On the Etsy website, Fotorny found care packages for cancer patients.
“I thought, I can do that to supplement some of my cancer bills,” she said.
She made a few boxes, but they didn’t sell. A friend of a friend was then diagnosed with breast cancer and Fotorny decided to send a care package along, free of charge.
“I wrote her a hand-written letter and told her who I was. I told her I was praying for her. I had a pink box and I mailed it to her. As I was sealing it up, I thought this is what I could do with the care packages,” Fotorny said. “I took them all off Etsy. I started sending them and it spread by word of mouth. About two weeks after I sent the first one, the person wrote me back. She said, ‘I thought there was no hope and I was overwhelmed by the kindness of a stranger that you would do this for me … it was like you sent me a box of hope.'”
And just like that, “Boxes of Hope” was born.
“Boxes of Hope” is now a 501(c)3, which means it is a full-fledged non-profit.
“It was a lot of paperwork and a lot of waiting. We submitted the paperwork … there are a lot of steps. In November, we were officially named a 501(c)3,” Fotorny said.
To date, Fotorny has sent 155 Boxes of Hope to people in 38 different states. The care packages started going out in May of 2019.
“It’s something I enjoy doing. Each care package is sent with a lot of love and prayers,” Fotorny said.
She doesn’t do it all on her own. She said that she has enlisted the help of her husband and two sons.
“My boys have helped pack the boxes. My husband will take care packages to the post office and drop them off for me,” Fotorny said.
For awhile, Fotorny said, pink boxes were hard to come by, so she had to switch to white boxes. That didn’t go over well with her son, she said with a laugh.
“My son said ‘Mom, pink is the signature box. That’s what Boxes of Hope is.’ So we finally found a closer distributor and we went back to the pink boxes,” Fotorny explained.
According to Fotorny, each box is different. Socks are a staple in the boxes. But after that, it’s a treasure trove of goodies. Some boxes include jewelry, soaps, lotions, a bath bomb, tea and lip balm — for starters.
Shipping, she said, is the biggest expense for Boxes of Hope. Each box costs around $10 to ship. But the cost is well worth it, Fotorny said.
“It really means more when you’re going through something like this. Cancer definitely changes your perspective. You realize that the little things mean a lot. The little things are the big things,” Fotorny said.
For more information about Boxes of Hope, visit its website at www.boh4bc.org, email info@boh4bc.org or check out the Facebook group at PinkBoxesOfHope.
To get in touch with Fotorny, call her at (570) 502-2524. You can also make a donation through the website as well.
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Mill Hall woman creates non-profit specifically designed for breast cancer patients - Lock Haven Express
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