This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Angels Wear Many Colors for Many Causes

Bracelets keep friend's memory alive.

Shelby Township residents Anna Strem and Linda Craik know that angels can wear many colors–from pink, to red, to green, to purple, and even orange and blue.

They are two women who lived parallel lives until they were united by a common cause that made them friends.

It all began four years ago with a few bracelets.  The women were only acquaintances when Craik held a fundraiser to help a friend, Sharon Winter, who, at age 42, was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Strem donated several pink beaded bracelets for the event through a mutual friend.  The bracelets were raffled off, but their unique design left friends and others wanting more.  The design came to be known as “Sharon’s Bracelet.”

When Winter died in 2007, nine months after her diagnosis, 200 bracelets were made as memorials for her funeral. 

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It was an emotional decision, but shortly thereafter, the women decided to keep her memory alive by making awareness bracelets to be sold as fundraisers for breast cancer, as well as a number of other causes.  That’s when they created their organization, Angel of Grace.

Now, almost four years and 50,000 bracelets later, the women are still busily beading and selling bracelets locally and throughout the United States from their website www.AngelofGrace.com.  The bracelets may be ordered in various quantities and sold at a small markup to raise money for events such as the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk and the Relay for Life.

“Not in a million years would I think I would be here making bracelets going into our fourth year,” said Strem, a mother of three and a former medical clinician. 

The colors and causes are many.  The pink breast cancer awareness bracelet is the best seller followed by red, for heart disease, with blue and turquoise for colon and ovarian cancers, respectively, in a tie for third place.

The women have also “adopted” local families and donated the proceeds from bracelet sales to help defray medical costs. 

Applicants come from community referrals and are screened personally by Strem and Craik.

Currently, the women are hard at work for a cause of their own.  They will be participating in the local Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society.  The “angels” will be wearing purple for the event.  The color is representative of cancer survivors and is the general color of the cancer cause.

The Relay for Life event is held in communities throughout the U.S.  Participants raise money and walk for a 24-hour period.

This year’s local event will be Saturday and Sunday May 21-22 at River Bends Park from 10 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Angel of Grace team’s on-site fundraiser will be a purple awareness bracelet specially created for the event and the bracelets will be ready soon.

Still, as they work to prepare for the event, at the heart of their activity is the memory of their friend, Sharon. 

“She had a heart that didn’t stop,” said Craik, as she remembers her friend of 13 years.

Strem adds, “Nothing would make her happier (than) to know that we made something for her and we are helping other people because of her.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?