Simplicity Décor is partnering up with two local non-profit organizations for the GelGems for A Cause contest.
Both teams will be at Simplicity Decor creating their GelGem mural to promote their cause from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 21. The organizations that will be involved in this friendly competition for a cause are The Hope Heart Institute and American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
The Hope Heart team will be led by the organization’s vice-president, Cherie Skager. The Hope Heart Institute is a local non-profit that is focused on making heart disease – the leading cause of death in America – more beatable, treatable and preventable. The mural will be dedicated to women’s heart health, in celebration of Mother’s Day and National Women’s Health Week.
The American Cancer Society team will be led by survivor chair for Relay of Life of Bothell, Lorri Kostenko.
Kostenko says, “This cause is near and dear to my family’s hearts. In 2006, my son Lucas was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, bone cancer. He went through a humerous transplant and 9 months of chemo. In 2007, 34 days after Lucas’s treatment was finished, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and six chemo sessions, plus radiation. Eleven days after I finished my radiation, in August of 2007, my father was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. After losing his eyesight and going through several rounds of chemotherapy, dad lost his battle with cancer and died Sept. 16, 2008.”
She and her team will be creating a mural in honor of Relay for Life, which donates all proceeds from its overnight relay to cancer research and patient programs and services.
GelGems are bright and colorful window clings that come in many shapes and forms. GelGems are more than a fan, squishy artistic medium, they are a powerful means of expression. This year’s GelGems Retailer Window Contest is to partner with a favorite local charity to create a mural that promotes a cause. The two charities will be given the same amount of GelGem material, but it is up to them how they will cut, mix, layer and create their murals.
Simplicity Decor will have the masterpieces displayed for one week in the front store windows, so come by, cheer the teams on and see them in action April 21 at 126 Park Lane, Kirkland.
Photos of both window designs will be taken and submitted to the GelGems website, where they will be judged by online voting! Voting will take place May 7-13. The grand prize will be $1000 cash donation to charity, runner up is $500, and second runner up is $250. All entries will be featured on GelGems website at www.gelgems.com.
