Sept. 26-To honor Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, Beads of Courage, Inc., (BOC) a non-profit organization that provides innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care for children coping with serious illness, their families and the healthcare providers who care for them, is launching the Beads of Courage® Beads in Space Tour and Bead Design Challenge, presented by maxIT Healthcare. BOC Children and families will be invited to see handmade Beads of Courage space beads that flew 4.8 million miles at over 17,500 miles per hour aboard the NASA Atlantis Space Shuttle Mission STS-132 and Endeavour Space Shuttle Mission STS-134 and to participate in the Beads of Courage Bead Design Challenge. The kick-off event on September 1st is at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. Other Beads of Courage tour stops will include: Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Scottish Rite), Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Rady Children’s Hospital, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Central DuPage Hospital, and Parkland Health & Hospital System.

“Hurley is the ONLY hospital in mid-Michigan offering this specialized program for pediatric patients, their families and the healthcare providers treating them. “Beads of Courage” isfor children with serious illnesses, like cancer, sickle cell disease, hemophilia and other blood disorders and diseases. We are thrilled to be able to offer this program to our smallest patients, and are very excited to be chosen to be part of the national ‘Beads in Space’ Tour,” adds Lori Newton, Director, Hurley Child Life Services.

Children who participate in the program are given a length of string along with letter beads that spell out their name. As they undergo their healing process, they receive beads that represent different treatments and milestones. Their growing beaded necklaces stand as pieces of art that symbolize their medical histories and allow the kids to share and reflect on their experiences. The beads are given to children from birth to young adulthood. The Beads in Space Tour, presented by maxIT Healthcare, LLC, will travel to ten hospitals and cities throughout the U.S. during the months of September and October.

Each child participating in the events will receive a commemorative Beads in Space shuttle bead and poster, and have an opportunity to participate in the first annual Bead Design Challenge. Each hospital will have a specific theme and the top bead design artist from that hospital will be paired with an artist from the International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB) to have their Bead of Courage® created. The top 10 designs from each hospital will be featured in a book to be released in late 2011 and made available to the public for purchase online at beadsofcourage.org. All proceeds of the sales benefit Beads of Courage.

“The Beads of Courage Program provides a way to honor and acknowledge the incredible courage that children facing serious illness demonstrate every day,” says Beads of Courage founder and Executive Director, Jean Baruch. “The Beads in Space Tour is a way to connect kids to an adventure that is full of hope and excitement for the future while the Bead Design Challenge allows them to explore their creativity and further solidifies our strong relationships with the hospitals and health care professionals that implement our programs.”

The Beads of Courage program is now in 90 children’s hospitals, including Hurley, along with Japan and New Zealand, with 15,000 children participating. Anyone can support Beads of Courage and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by making a donation or purchasing a commemorative shuttle bead and poster at www.beadsofcourage.org <http://www.beadsofcourage.org>

Media: The Beads in Space Tour will visit Hurley Medical Center’s Dutcher Center on Tuuri Place, Flint (across the street from the Hurley Children’s Clinic at Mott Children’s Health Center) on September 28, 2011 from 4 to 6 p.m. This event is open ONLY to patients and the media, and is not open to the public. Interviews with pediatric patients, Lori Newton and Bead Designer Robin Jorrey will be available. If you can attend, contact Ilene Cantor, Hurley Medical Center Director, Communications and Public Relations at 810-262-7164 or icantor1@hurleymc.com.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Hurley Medical Center is a 443-bed premier public teaching hospital located in the heart of Genesee County, Michigan.  As the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, Burn Center, and the highest level Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) available in Genesee County, Hurley is a recognized leader in clinical care and education, maintaining affiliations with Michigan State University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan-Flint, Mott Community College and Henry Ford Health System. Founded in 1908, Hurley provides patient care for more than 100,000 people annually.