Help Lilly go to Kenya with A Fresh Chapter

Help Lilly go to Kenya with a Fresh Chapter

Hello and many blessings to everyone reading this. My name is Lillian “Lilly” Walker Shelton and I am a professional helper. What does that mean? I have spent my life and career as a childcare worker, a case worker, a community organizer, and now I am a mental health therapist. I have given a lot of myself, and now, I am on the opposite end and I am asking for help. However, having cancer does that to you. It really teaches you humility.

I was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer during the pandemic in 2020 and I had a double mastectomy. Very unfortunately, the cancer returned in 2022, this time in my bones. I have had three rounds of radiation and I am on my second round of medication treatment. I am currently disabled and every area of my life is affected by my disability.

In this video that I did for the Biden Cancer Moonshot campaign (https://youtu.be/RYR-LSAyWlY?si=1PG6doV8-NvFV-og), I talk about how you cannot do cancer alone. Well, my family and friends have made sure that I do not have to take this journey alone. Another great help for me has been connecting with other patients, survivors, and caregivers. I am part of a wonderful, survivor-led organization called A Fresh Chapter. A Fresh Chapter gives people the tools to get back to living — whether with or beyond cancer. I have been able to participate in A Fresh Chapter’s Ignite Experience program (a skills-based program to heal the emotional scars of cancer) and the AFC Leaders program (a human-centered leadership development program). Now, I would like to participate in their 2024 Africa Elevate Fellowship. For this fellowship, I will travel to Kenya and support A Fresh Chapter’s vision to empower every African impacted by cancer with the skills and support to process what they have been through and become advocates who support their peers. Can you help me get there?

Please consider making a donation to my GoFundMe to assist with my plane ticket, ETA’s (e Visa Online Application), vaccinations, and souvenir money.

To incentivize giving, my good friend and photographer Jonna of Jonna Michelle Photography is sweetening the pot. Anyone who gives $850 or more will be entered to win a free lifestyle session with her. Anyone who gives $300 or more will be entered to win a free head shot session with her. (Photo sessions will need to take place within an hour of Washington, D.C. Anonymous donations, though welcome, will automatically be excluded from entry).

It is hard for me to ask for help like this, but like I said, cancer has shown me that I cannot do this alone.

Peace and blessings,

Lilly