Through our programs, we provide the opportunity for COURAGE to be honored, HOPE to be given, and JOY to be experienced.
Our Mission
To provide innovative, arts-in-medicine programs for children coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them.
Our History
The Beads of Courage® Program has become the standard of care for supporting children and their families during their treatment for cancer and other serious illness. With the encouragement of families, supporters, bead artist community, and others, Beads of Courage-Canada was incorporated in 2011 and launched its first program in January 2012. Victoria Plouffe has served as the Executive Director since the organization was established.
More of the Beads of Courage Story: Jean Gribbon developed the first Beads of Courage Program while working on her Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Arizona. Her inspiration came from her clinical practice and from her experiences as a camp nurse at one of Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camps. With the financial support of her family and friends, Jean developed and piloted the Beads of Courage Program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in February 2004.
Today, Beads of Courage, Inc. is providing the Beads of Courage® program in over 300 children’s hospitals throughout Canada, the United States, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Our Vision:
To advance the science of caring. Beads of Courage, Inc. is proud to be affiliated with the Watson Science Caring Institute and in 2013, we established the Center for Arts-in-Nursing to boldly pursue our vision.
Our Goals:
- To transform the bedside experience of caring for children and teens with serious illness through innovative Arts-in-Medicine Programs;
- To model collaborative strategies to strengthen human connectedness through the gift of beads that bestow honor and express human caring;
- To contribute to the science, practice and implementation of evidence-based interventions.
Our Programs:
Every Beads of Courage® program integrates the use of beads, the earliest art form known to humans, as visible, tangible symbols of human experiences that need and deserve to be expressed. Every time a bead is given courage is honored, suffering is alleviated, resilience is strengthened, and the experience of human caring is affirmed.