Elephants and Tea - December 2022 - 4

Conversation UPDATE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Reflecting on 2022 and
Looking Forward to 2023
BY NICK GIALLOURAKIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STEVEN G. CANCER FOUNDATION
T
he elephant in the room is
cancer. Tea is the relief conversation
provides. This is our
motto, short and sweet. Storytelling
is the heart and soul of
what we do. It is the heartbeat of our organization.
Everything that we do revolves around
allowing people to share their stories in their
own words.
This December also happens to be Elephants
and Tea's fourth birthday. Between
our four magazines and all the submissions
on our website, we now have over 320 contributors
across 10 countries. In addition,
we have subscribers across 15 countries.
I never imagined we would reach this
many people in such a short period of time.
We strive to reach as many AYAs as possible,
so they will know they are not alone
in facing cancer. Storytelling is our tool in
this endeavor.
REFLECTING ON 2022
Our little (yet mighty) team grew from two
full-time employees to three with the addition
of our Director of Marketing, Lisa Orr. My
parents decided it was time to take a step back
and are no longer on our board of directors'
executive committee and my brother Steven
(our organization's namesake) took the reins
as president.
Thank you to my parents, Steven, and
the rest of the board of directors for all the
amazing support and guidance you give me
on a daily basis.
We jumped headfirst (literally, down a
Slip 'N Slide) into launching an in-person
sleep-away camp called Young Adult Cancer
Camp with our dear friends Stephanie and
Lindsey at Young Adult Survivors United.
The memories created from this camp will
be cherished forever. If you missed it this
year, don't worry, it will be back in 2023.
4
ELEPHANTSANDTEA.COM
DECEMBER 2022
This month, we will have our third year
of YA Cancer Gabfest with our dear friends
at Cactus Cancer Society.
This is the second year of our Perkatory
events, and we launched an informational
series called " A Community Conversation. "
And I can't leave out my family away from
family, our Friday Happy Hour crew.
We launched three special edition magazines
with our friends at Seagen (Hodgkin
lymphoma), Walgreens (Cancer & Fertility),
and Servier (Acute Myeloid Leukemia/
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) to continue
providing a space for AYAs in niche areas.
Thanks to the amazing I'm Not Done Yet
Foundation and Lizzy Menges, we were
able to grow our " Healing Through Writing
Workshops " across the country. We also
created our very own guided journal for
participants to take with them.
Last, but certainly not least, we launched
a new two-year content campaign with our
friend Yolanda Murphy, called " One Herd:
The State of Underserved AYA Cancer
Communities. " This is an innovative and
integrative way of using content, stories,
and community to better understand and
effectively address health disparities in access
to care for the medically underserved.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2023
Beginning in March, we will be launching
our first-ever Elephants and Tea Magazine
Event in Houston, Texas. It is time to bring
people together as much as we possibly can.
We will be hosting four events that correspond
with each of our 2023 magazine issues.
These events will take place in different
parts of the country to meet our herd where
they are, and to make it easier for survivors
to connect with others in the AYA cancer
community in a cost-effective way. The other
cities we will be traveling to are Cleveland,
Ohio (May 20), Boston, Massachusetts (September
2023), and Dallas, Texas (December
2023 magazine/January 2024). Be on the
lookout for more information.
We will also be bringing back-along
with YASU-the YA Cancer Camp in
September 2023.
Virtually, Perkatory, YA Cancer Gabfest,
and more will be coming, including a digital
series on fertility and cancer with Walgreens.
With the experience we have gained
with our custom content, we are launching
Elephants and Tea Custom Studio. This
will allow us to work with corporations,
pharmaceutical companies, and other
nonprofits to bring the survivor voice and
experience to their marketing materials.
This will allow us to create more special
edition magazine issues to continue
bringing taboo topics and cancer specific
resources to the community.
LOOKING AHEAD
In 2022, we met our goals of engaging with
more people where they are and bringing
them together. We also strengthened what
we do well, and that is our storytelling
programs.
In 2023, we plan on launching two new
programs: the Elephants and Tea Magazine
Events and Elephants and Tea Custom
Studio.
Thank you to our Elephants and Tea
stars, Rachel Mihalko and Lisa Orr. Without
you two, I don't know where we (I)
would be. Truly, thank you.
Thank you to our amazing supporting
cast: Alexia Montgomery, Randy Schirz,
Mike Hoff, Yolanda Murphy, Whitney
Hadley, Kayla Fulginiti, Taylor Buss,
Wendy Griffith, Heather Haemker, and
Liz Hiles.
I love you all. Cheers to a New Year. l
http://www.ELEPHANTSANDTEA.COM
Elephants and Tea - December 2022

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