“If We Build it They Will Come”

“Find something that you are passionate about in making a difference and you’ll find a waiting kinship of people willing to unite for the cause.”
– Wes Adamson

You might remember that on October 6th Turning Heads was gifted with the most wonderful article by Bethany Roessner on the front page of The Desert Sun . We are forever grateful for the generosity of Beth and The Desert Sun to spend the time and effort (not to mention that much coveted front page! Woo hoo!) to share our story of how Turning Heads helps shape the lives of those battling cancer and losing their hair to chemotherapy. That day was the catalyst for so many good things for Turning Heads and I am tickled pink to tell you about one of the very best things that came from it.

I’ve always said “if we build it they will come”. Well, I didn’t say that actually, but I’ve repeated it numerous times as I tend to “think” in “quotes” an awful lot. Debbie and I have never had any worry about Turning Heads growing into just what it’s supposed to be and when the time has come for anything an angel has magically appeared. Our team has slowly grown into our core group of tireless and generous volunteers and today I am delighted to tell you we’ve added one more.

The day after our article was published we received an email from Ellen Paris. On the exact same day five years before Ellen had been diagnosed with Stage 4 head and neck cancer. She wrote to us: “I’m one of the lucky ones. I realized how truly fortunate I was every single day. I would love to help you get the word out or whatever I can do for you…” As Director of Public Relations at a local ad agency as well as a long time journalist, Ellen appeared to us with both the skills and the offer of exactly what we were needing. It’s with a huge debt of gratitude that we thank Ellen for reaching out to us. Like all of us, she has a “job” as well as numerous other community involvements but she was called to be part of what we do. We decided it would be most fun if she chose her own title and she is officially now our Wordsmith and Communication “Head”.

She went to work immediately and created a to do list that she’s already started ticking off. Watch for blog posts by Ellen as well as some wonderful updates to our website and printed materials. She is already reaching out in so many ways to help our efforts. We have some exciting things in the works thanks to her experience and ideas.

Ellen, thank you for reaching out to us, and welcome to the Turning Heads family!