Little Pink Houses of Hope Comes to Marco

When Little Pink Houses of Hope CEO Jeanine Patten-Coble crossed the Marco Island bridge for the first time last Tuesday, August 2, she got a feeling of serenity. That feeling of serenity turned into a feeling of euphoria when she discovered, two days later, that Marco Islanders had pledged 15 homes to pave the way for a Little Pink Houses of Hope breast cancer retreat on the island for June 3-10, 2023.

 “We’re super excited to come to Marco,” Patten-Coble said. "You drive across that bridge and there’s a serenity you feel. And we’re excited for our breast cancer families who are coming to have that same feeling."

Patten-Coble and her retreats and program director, Kathy Gates, were in town last week to meet with Brad Shaw, the Marco Islander who will be the coordinator of the retreat. Everyone was amazed at how quickly Marco Islanders stepped up to offer their homes for the week.

“It’s amazing,” Patten-Coble said. "Think about that. Two days. It was very, very quick. It was a great response.”

Shaw retired from Home Depot, where he ran their communications. He coordinated a retreat for Little Pink Houses of Hope in Blue Ridge, Georgia, prior to moving to Marco.

"The first step is getting property owners to donate their properties for a week,” Shaw said. "Without that, the retreat doesn’t happen. So I reached out to Mark Morze from Itrip.net and Kelli Swanson at Clausen Properties, and literally, within two days we had 15 properties donated. By the time our initial meeting was over Mark had already put me in touch with five people who were offering to help with things like meals and activities. So it’s off to the races.”

Little Pink Houses of Hope stages 22 retreats a year so Patten-Coble knows when she sees something special happening. She sees it unfolding on Marco.

"The outpouring and desire for community members to be a part of it,” Patten-Coble said, "it’s palpable how much this community wants to give back. And how much they want to get involved. Not necessarily just by presenting a check, but by really being a part of it. They really want to be part of the boots on the ground. They want to have direct contact with the patients. It’s really amazing.”

"We’re not there yet,” Shaw said. "We still need a lot of help. Meals donated, activities donated. I can tell this community’s going to swarm it in a really big way.”

"Our program is all about families who are on the breast cancer journey just being able to hit the pause button,” Patten-Coble said. "No treatments, no doctor’s appointments. Trying to relieve stress and really just connect as a family. On top of that we’ll have 10 families here the same week. Just giving them a chance to connect as a group. So they don’t feel so isolated and alone during the cancer journey.”

Shaw expects Marco Islanders to answer the call.

"We need help from the community as we organize their week,” Shaw said. "We need group meals and individual meals. Gift cards to Publix so they can stock their houses. Things like kayaking and paddle boarding. We’re probably going to do a day on the beach. There’s a lot we’re planning now that we’re going to need help for. If people want to help, they should just reach out to me.”

Shaw can be reached at brad@littlepink.org or by phone at 404-274-4834. "I’m a full-time resident here,” Shaw said. "I’m not going anywhere."

 "Doing this work you get a front row seat to the goodness in the world,” Patten-Coble said. "It’s truly a blessing. I have the best job in the world.”