Stowe Weekend of Hope 2019

Anne & Dick acknowledging 18 years of attendance at SWoH 

Wow - what a great weekend we are all having so far! Our group arrived on Thursday and Friday and everyone brought food - lots and lots of homemade casseroles, breads and lunch produce, delicious homemade humus, fresh fruit and baked goods and plenty of nosh!

Today, our own Anne, Dick, Marilyn and Cathy led a gynecological group for caregivers and their partners. We listened to each other's stories in one group while partners/spouses met in another.

I met a woman today in the gynecological group who has come for the first time. Shy and nervous, she admitted to me during the breakout session led by Anne, Dick, Marilyn and Cathy that this was exactly what she was hoping to find this weekend. My only problem was that there wasn't enough time to continue to talk with all the wonderful women I met. We were able to talk to many of them about our TTT retreat and hopefully we'll see some more new faces there this year.

Yesterday we heard from the VT governor, Phil Scott, who talked about his aunt co-founding an organization that awards small grants to singles and families struggling with the financial burdens of cancer. It awarded over a million dollars last year to local residents - that's the power of collective giving and community. And really, isn't that the power that Anne harnessed back in 2009 when she created TTT? It starts with the vision of one person - just like Stowe Weekend of Hope.

Thank you Stowe, thank you Anne, and thanks to all my sisters and their partners for this gift of renewal and connection.

Gov. Scott

Karen Newman, World Record-holding Triathelete, gave an inspiring keynote address and as a bonus to all of us, we each got a copy of her book. 

A group of us just chillin' at our generously donated and absolutely spectacular home in Stowe

We all fought over playing with her!