WE ARE THE SHADE
Grandparents Challenge
.png)
We Remember
We remember the diagnosis.
We remember the questions that seemed impossible to answer.
We remember lying awake at night worrying about our children, our grandchildren, and what the future might hold.
Most of all, we remember feeling alone.
Then we found Nevus Outreach.
Through the conference, we met families who had walked this road before us. Families who understood. Families who showed us that life with CMN could still be filled with joy, laughter, friendships, milestones, and hope.
They became more than a source of information.
They became friends.
They became family.
The Gift We Were Given
Fourteen years ago, our families met for the first time at a Nevus Outreach Conference.
What started as a shared diagnosis became a friendship that has spanned more than a decade.
We've celebrated milestones together.
We've traveled together.
We've opened our homes to one another.
We've watched our grandchildren grow up.
And through every stage of life, we've had people who truly understood the journey.
That gift changed our lives.
Because Little Kids Grow Up
When we first attended the conference, our grandchildren were toddlers.
They were too young to understand why we had traveled so far or why so many people cared about a skin condition called CMN.
Today, they're becoming confident young adults.
The fears we carried in those early days have not completely disappeared, but they have been replaced by something stronger:
Hope.
Community.
Connection.
And the knowledge that none of us have to walk this journey alone.
That gift changed our lives.
There is a Greek proverb that has stayed with us:
"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”
Fourteen years ago, someone planted a tree for us.
Because they gave, we found answers.
Because they gave, we found friendship.
Because they gave, we found hope.
Today, we stand in the shade of what they built.
Now it is our turn to plant the next tree.
Help Us Continue to Provide the Shade
This July, families from around the world will gather at the Nevus Outreach Conference.
Some will be attending for the first time.
Some will arrive carrying fears we remember all too well.
Some will be searching for answers.
Some will simply need someone to tell them they are going to be okay.
Our Grandparents Group has committed to raising $10,000 to help support this year's conference and ensure families continue to find the connection, education, and community that changed our lives.
Will you help us?
