We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cathy Orr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cathy below.

Cathy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

Many years ago, I was diagnosed with a disease that most people hadn’t heard about at the time. The name of the disease is lupus. At that time, I faced a great deal of misunderstanding and dismissal, as well as the stigma that comes with a chronic illness. This is especially true for a chronic illness that is also an invisible illness.

After starting on steroid treatment, I went from looking healthy to looking unwell. At that time, I wanted to keep my illness private. However, it was apparent to others that something was wrong. I didn’t look or function like myself. I spent most days in bed and had difficulty caring for my young children.

At the same time, I had a friend battling breast cancer. I noticed the strong sense of community that the pink cancer awareness ribbons provided for those who battled the disease. Those battling breast cancer formed a breast cancer sisterhood, so to speak, a comfortable space to share their stories. It also became clear to me that the pink cancer pins were a catalyst for spreading awareness, information, and used to advocate for breast cancer funding and treatment.

Not long after, my daughter faced an autoimmune illness. To advocate for her and raise awareness and understanding of both our health struggles, I searched for a pin like the pink ribbon. What I found was that lupus had two colors representing it at the time (orange and purple) and that the lupus community was fractured. It almost appeared that lupus organizations, of which there were several, were competing with one another instead of uniting in a unifying force. I searched for a way to make my voice heard, purchasing and gifting the “Get into The Loop” pin sold by the Dorough Foundation to raise lupus awareness.

Still, there was nothing available that really called attention to lupus like the pink ribbon for breast cancer or the red ribbon for AIDS. I knew I couldn’t be the only one who wished to call attention to lupus. For that matter, I thought that there must be many missed opportunities to call attention to other illnesses or causes. Even social issues.

Cancer ribbons alone don’t always humanize cancer causes because they can, at times, feel generic. What I discovered is that to understand and really advocate for a cause, there needed to be a reason. The reason, I realized, is that behind every awareness ribbon is a person who is struggling. And, that someone needs support, understanding, and compassion. For this reason, I created Personalized Cause. And I created the first individually engravable awareness ribbon to include a name, date, or message

Sometimes, others need to see a name or phrase to fully grasp why a cause is personal. In my case, “My Daughter and Me,” was inscribed on the first Personalized Cause awareness ribbon. It garnered attention. It made me an advocate even when I said nothing. Soon people began to ask the meaning behind my pin and why I wore it. My engraving spoke volumes. Our logo does, too, which my daughter designed when she was in her teens and struggling to navigate this disease.

Suddenly, people asked questions, trying to learn more about my personal health journey, as well as my daughter’s. And they started to educate themselves about this disease called lupus. This change in behavior demonstrated how one person raising awareness for a cause really does affect understanding and compassion. This passion can make an impact on others or ultimately help find or fund a cure. It is advocacy at its best. In other words, raising your voice and calling attention to the purpose behind a cause close to your heart.

I also experienced an unexpected result of wearing my custom awareness ribbon. For the first time, I felt empowered in a situation where I had previously felt powerless. I couldn’t control my own illness any more than I could control my daughter’s. But by wearing this purple custom ribbon pin, I found that it gave me ownership of my illness, rather than the other way around. Instead of feeling defeated by my body or trapped by my disease, I felt liberated.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Since 2001, Personalized Cause has educated the public, advocated for good health practices, encouraged awareness about cancer and social causes, stood up for animals and animal rights, and raised public awareness of mental health issues.

To raise awareness for these causes, we offer three major awareness products. Each product is available in a personalized and non-personalized version. Our products include personalized awareness pins and non-personalized enamel ribbon pins, cloth fabric ribbons and personalized fabric awareness ribbons, and also silicone wristbands or bracelets in both a personalized and non-personalized style. With these simple yet effective awareness items, our goal is to raise sensitivity to and understanding of medical, mental health and social movements. Causes we all hold dear to our heart deserve attention. Through these products, we offer a vehicle to do that – to advocate.

Our products, a simple yet meaningful symbol of support, have a clear purpose. We know that behind each of our color-designated causes is a person with a story to tell. It is our mission and goal to use these color-coded causes to replace fear with understanding, distance with compassion, and mistrust with love. We want all people to feel seen and heard.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Awareness is especially important to those struggling with invisible illnesses. Invisible illnesses can be frustrating to communicate and others to understand. It is not always clear to friends and family why people look “fine” yet struggle. To many with invisible illnesses, they feel misunderstood. Our hope is that this site brings more light to this misunderstanding and offers an avenue for conversation and compassion.

The same is true about “spoonies.” “Spoonies” are people who live with chronic pain and subscribe to spoon theory. These people often refer to themselves as “spoonies.” The term isn’t limited to any one medical condition. Rather, it’s a way for anyone who lives with chronic pain to explain the way they ration their energy based on their illness. Again, there is a tremendous need for understanding. At Personalized Cause, we work to give a voice to both those who struggle with invisible illnesses and highlight spoon theory.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

From its beginning, Personalized Cause built upon the well-accepted pink and red awareness ribbons that brought attention to breast cancer (pink) and the impact of AIDS (red) by improving upon the generic, mainstream awareness ribbon. For the first time, an engraved enamel awareness ribbon was available. This offered advocates the ability to engrave up to two lines of text onto enamel awareness pins. Further, the pins did not need to be purchased in bulk, allowing one person to communicate one message that had meaning to them. Over twenty years later, these pins are still being used to advocate for heartfelt causes. Our pins, for example, help people advocate for medical and social issues in Washington, DC at our nation’s capital. Similarly, they are worn at school board meetings to advocate for children. You can also find them at fundraising walks and runs to raise much-needed funding for medical research.

With our cause ribbons, Personalized Cause has raised awareness and funding for well-known disorders and diseases that affect many, such as breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, to lesser known or rare diseases and disorders that affect very few.

By creating a unique product that gave advocates and others an opportunity to tell their stories, this pin helped educate communities, patients, and caregivers alike. The pins also showed the very personal impact of disease and illness, as well as called attention to other meaningful causes. Over twenty years later, Personalized Cause continues to highlight current events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, human rights, and climate change.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.personalizedcause.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/personalizedcause/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/personalizedcause/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/personalcause/