Organization We Cheer For--YACS Pittsburgh

C.S. Lewis said,

"Hardship often prepares ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."

Stephanie Scoletti is one of the most beautiful souls we've never met. How can we tell? Well, for one, she actually dreams of a day when her job will be absolute. Yup, you read that right. One day, she hopes to not have a job. How many people say that out loud? Brave ones, I say, ones doing amazing work that helps humanity get better.

At the age of 20, Stephanie's immune system started shutting down. That's when she was diagnosed with leukemia and joined 70,000 of her young-adult friends across the country diagnosed every year with cancer. Before her diagnosis, Stephanie had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. After going through cancer herself and noticing the lack of support services for the young adult population, she knew. This hardship prepared her for an extraordinary destiny.

Stephanie went on to earn her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in social work and created The Young Adult Cancer Support inside the Cancer Caring Center in Pittsburgh. They provide emotional support, social activities, and financial assistance so 18-39-year-olds in Western Pennsylvania can get the help they need during and after treatment. Her dream is that one day there will be a cure for cancer or enough assistance for young people with the disease that her job isn't necessary. Until then, she keeps on showing up for her peeps and cheering them through the hardships of their lives so they can go do extraordinary things.

We were introduced to Stephanie and YACS last fall and have fallen in love with them and their mission to sure no young adult in the Western PA region goes through cancer alone. That's why they're the beneficiary of our donations from the sale of our Yinzers shirts. Because of your love for your city, we're able to cheer on local young adults who are just trying to adult while going through cancer treatment. 

We're so excited to meet Stephanie next month at their annual Wig Out Fundraiser and cannot wait to celebrate her and the rest of the "yinzers" at this fun event.

Thank you, Stephanie, for the work you do every day to make this World more cheerful.

You can learn more about YACS Pittsburgh here: http://cancercaring.org/yacs/

You can watch one of Stephanie's interviews here:  https://bit.ly/2N83uC9