We were lucky to catch up with Peggie Sherry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Peggie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

Since August 1999 I, Peggie Sherry, has been hosting events, outings, educational workshops, and medically supervised weekend camps for adults and children with all types of cancers and blood disorders. Based in Tampa, Florida but nationally known these outings and camps allow cancer patients the opportunity to create friendships with lasting bonds which help ease the struggle of their cancer journey. After one Adult Retreat our phone rang and I spoke to one of the campers who had attended camp her name was Mary and she stood out as a particularly unusual camper. She arrived at camp mad and upset and really tried her best to be standoffish and grumpy. Mary asked if I remembered her and I said Yes, you were pretty much a witch which I should spell with a capital B. She laughed. She asked if I wanted to hear her story and my response was “sure”. she went on to say her Oncologist asked her sign up for camp and she refused. Unbeknownst to me her husband called and registered her, completed the paperwork and packed her bag. On camp day he told her he was taking her to the mall but took her to camp instead. Dropping her off at camp with her luggage but no purse or phone. That is how we met Mary. During the camp weekend Mary’s cabin mates (many who had much worst cancer diagnosis) befriend her and listened to her story and shared theirs. At the end of camp Mary had changed completely. When her husband picked her up she hugged her roommates goodbye and ran into his arms. When they got home she handed him the note she had written before camp and the gun she had purchased to kill herself that weekend while he traveled for work. At camp she realized that she could face her cancer diagnoses and that her treatment plan was not as frightening as she had imagined. She knew she had others she could call on now and that she was not facing this fight alone.

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

Cancer is Serious, Camp is Serious FUN!!! is the motto of Faces of Courage Foundation (FOC). FOC provides day outings, educational workshops, and medically-supervised overnight camps for women, children, and families touched by all types of Cancer and Blood Disorders. All programs are made available to the participants and their families at no cost. Our services are palliative in support and focus on developing strong positive attitudes towards recovery and good health management. We currently have served over 12,000 cancer families with the help of over 1,600+ active volunteers.

Faces of Courage provides the following Programs for people diagnosed with any type of Cancer and Blood Disorders:
Kid/Young Adult Camper Outings (Educational/Recreational)
Adult Camper Outings (sporting events, theatre and museums)
Adult Adventure Outings (overnight rustic canoe, kayak, hiking)
Virtual EduCare sessions on cancer treatment, the mind-body-spirit approach to integrative medicine, improving mental health, stress reduction, health and wellbeing
Virtual Meet Ups – Themed virtual support meetings for adults
Virtual Enriching Arts Classes – online art classes (supplies provided) for adults
Women’s Cancer Weekend Retreats
Minority Women Cancer Weekend Retreats
Teen/Young Adult Cancer Camp Weekend (ages 13 and up)
Santa’s Workshop Weekend for Children with Cancer ages 2-12 and their well siblings
Collaboration with H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and University South FL on numerous cancer research grants

We are able to provide programs at no cost to participants through the generosity of corporate sponsors, civic, social and service organizations, individual donors, grants, fundraisers, and bequests. Individuals and corporations can help us by hosting outings, providing volunteers, sponsoring events and programs, cash donations, in-kind items or services, tickets to area sports and entertainment venues, and gift cards to grocery stores and/or discount department stores. Over 92% of each donation directly touches those fighting cancer. The programs encourage a sense of community rather than isolation, with a primary goal of helping cancer patients navigate their way through the treatment process and thrive as survivors. Your donations directly impact individuals fighting all types of Cancers and Blood Disorders in a meaningful and lasting way.

Our dream going forward is to own our own facility, We currently rent a special needs camp which is often booked limiting our ability to touch as many cancer patients as we could.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 1999 through an unusual set of circumstances I ended up working for a non profit running cancer camps. Four years into that job I was diagnosed with breast cancer and six months later I was diagnosed again with cancer. The organization I was working for thought I would not be able to run camps and go through treatments at the same time and so they closed my office in Florida. One of my volunteers suggested that I start a non profit saying the cancer patients want to go to camp with you and don’t know those people out of state. It was true they were calling me at home asking when the next camp was going to be held. January 6, 2004 about 5 weeks after my double mastectomy I started Faces of Courage with an inheritance from my parents John and Cynthia Drolshagen. Was it hard? YES, was I crazy? Hell Yes, was it worth it? You Bet!!!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid has changed the world in many ways and affected our non profit at the core. Our participates are all cancer survivors who under the best circumstances wear masks, stay away from crowds and have compromised immune systems. Most cancer patients feel a great deal of fear and often feel like they are ostracized during treatment. Taking away the opportunity to spend time together was heartbreaking. Early in January 2020 when the medical community was starting to pay attention we had to stop, reflect and adjust everything we were planning. We pivoted in two ways. The first was to reach out and connect with our campers by email. The feedback was troubling as the cancer patients felt a heightened fear and isolation. Many put off treatments and surgery because they were afraid to leave home. We started to offer online meet ups with monthly themes. Another program we offered was art classes. We ordered for each person art supplies from Amazon, hired an art teacher and hosted zoom classes for months, each with a different art project. One of the camps we are most know for is our Santa’s Workshop Weekend camp for cancer patients age 2-12 and their well siblings. We knew we could not bring those children to camp but we missed our babies and they missed us. We created a drive through event putting out 14 different tables with items for the families like stuffed bears, fresh fruit baskets, ginger bread house kits, popcorn, new wrapped holiday gifts for the children, parents and family pets, $100. food store gift cards and so much more. Even a Santa taking selfies from outside the cars. We hosted this event for two years with 100% show up each time. Our (masked) volunteers loved it and our families were able to get in the holiday spirit and feel the love we have for them. We are thrilled to be hosting back in person events and camps now. In August we launched our first adventure outing for adults taking a group of women on a 22 mile canoe trip down the Suwannee River with rustic camping. Life is good again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.FacesofCourage.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cancercamp
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggie-sherry-140841/

Image Credits
Yes we have releases for all campers and rights to the photos