Stockings for Strength 2020
Donation protected
My name is Whitney Setterdahl. I am 24 years old and an alum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to attending U of I, I attended high school at St. Joseph-Ogden. The summer before I began college, I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. As an eighteen year old, the news broke my heart and began a battle I never imagined for myself. Since that day, I have received three negative cancer scans, meaning I am officially in remission! However, if you ask me, my battle is far from over.
As a cancer survivor, I feel a deep and necessary passion to improve the lives of every other cancer patient in any capacity I can. As a teenager in the cancer unit, I often felt confused and out of place between the pediatric oncology department and adult oncology department. My goal is to make every other teen feel understood and as though they can still be themselves. I want to preserve their normalcy, and better yet, provide them with a smile!
As a huge fan of the entire Christmas season, I felt the most guilt imagining spending the holiday season in a hospital bed, instead of cozy at home surrounded by friends and family. And from this thought, Stockings for Strength was born!
For the fifth consecutive year, I am raising money for teens battling cancer at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where I received treatment. The staff and doctors there are phenomenal and so supportive of my mission. Donating money through this GoFundMe will directly fund the purchase of fun and cheerful stockings to be delivered to teenagers battling cancer this holiday season. This year will pose new challenges due to COVID-19, but I am so excited that despite the challenges 2020 has brought for everyone, we are still able to do this! All of the donations will be quarantined/sanitized ahead of being distributed to patients.
Please consider donating! I am always strategizing how to make your dollars go the furthest, so even a single dollar or two will contribute towards a smile for someone who deserves it the most.
If you would rather contribute some items you pick up yourself or would like to coordinate a group contribution, please contact me via Facebook! All pick-ups/ drop-offs of donations will be socially distanced.
Thank you for hearing my story and Merry Christmas!
As a cancer survivor, I feel a deep and necessary passion to improve the lives of every other cancer patient in any capacity I can. As a teenager in the cancer unit, I often felt confused and out of place between the pediatric oncology department and adult oncology department. My goal is to make every other teen feel understood and as though they can still be themselves. I want to preserve their normalcy, and better yet, provide them with a smile!
As a huge fan of the entire Christmas season, I felt the most guilt imagining spending the holiday season in a hospital bed, instead of cozy at home surrounded by friends and family. And from this thought, Stockings for Strength was born!
For the fifth consecutive year, I am raising money for teens battling cancer at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where I received treatment. The staff and doctors there are phenomenal and so supportive of my mission. Donating money through this GoFundMe will directly fund the purchase of fun and cheerful stockings to be delivered to teenagers battling cancer this holiday season. This year will pose new challenges due to COVID-19, but I am so excited that despite the challenges 2020 has brought for everyone, we are still able to do this! All of the donations will be quarantined/sanitized ahead of being distributed to patients.
Please consider donating! I am always strategizing how to make your dollars go the furthest, so even a single dollar or two will contribute towards a smile for someone who deserves it the most.
If you would rather contribute some items you pick up yourself or would like to coordinate a group contribution, please contact me via Facebook! All pick-ups/ drop-offs of donations will be socially distanced.
Thank you for hearing my story and Merry Christmas!
Organizer
Whitney Setterdahl
Organizer
Ogden, IL