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IN THE BASEMENT STUDIO OF ARTIST Bobbie Burnett's
Annapolis home, an assembly line of sorts is in action.
Volunteers are working with stained glass: drawing,
foiling, cutting, grinding, and soldering. The result?
Three-dimensional, stained-glass angels.
For the last 26 years, Burnett and dedicated volunteers
have been creating and selling these angels to raise
money for cancer research and patient care. The proceeds have always been divided equally between the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns
Hopkins and the Anne Arundel Medical Center's Geaton
and JoAnn DeCesaris Cancer Institute in Annapolis.
Burnett crafted the first angel in 1983 for her friend
Susie Lyttle, who was battling leukemia. During this rough
time in Lyttle's life, Burnett wanted to help. While others
were making meals and desserts for Lyttle's husband
and three children, who were all under 10 years old,
Burnett felt at a loss because, she admits, she's not the
greatest cook.
Art, though, was where she excelled.
Burnett created a three-dimensional, stained-glass
angel for Lyttle that stood 14 inches high and was aqua
with translucent wings. Lyttle loved it and displayed the
angel in her hospital room.
Many people who came by admired Lyttle's angel, and
Burnett got an idea. She enlisted the help of friends and
taught them how to make angels much like the one she
had made for her friend, but in various sizes. They began
making and selling them, with all the proceeds going to
help pay Lyttle's medical bills.
"I have about a dozen volunteers who worked in 1983
on the first angels, and they still come," says Burnett.
One woman who lives in another state visits the studio for
a couple of days each month to make angels. They keep
coming, Burnett believes, because "it's the feeling that
they're really making a difference and helping other
people. And they've become a family."
In December 1983, Susie Lyttle passed away.
But Burnett and her friends kept making angels.
Today, the Caring Collection boasts over 90 volunteers
who range in age from 12 to 90. Because they work in
Burnett's basement, the organization doesn't pay rent,
and no one who works for the group - even Burnett -
gets paid. "That is one thing that will never change."
"We give 100 percent of the money we make, above
and beyond what our materials cost," says Burnett. And
she's determined not to compromise her principles
regarding the complete donation of profits. Years ago,
QVC came calling and wanted to sell the angels on television. But Burnett refused because they would have had to
sell the angels at a higher price so that the shopping
channel would make money from it.
Countless stores have asked to sell the angels, as well;
again, she has refused because she and the volunteers
don't want others making a profit. "We're still not willing
to do that," says Burnett.
Every year, Burnett designs a new angel. Although the
designs and colors change over the years, their wings are
always translucent white. That way, Burnett explains, when
people display them, there is one element that ties the
collection together.
Last year's angel was called Hope
and came in white, blue, or burgundy. It sold for $85. The angels
come with a votive candle behind
them that allows the light to shine
through. After they're made, the
angels are cleaned, placed in a
specially designed foam insert, and
shipped in a gift box to their
destinations. They also come with
card that tells the story of the
Caring Collection.
Burnett and the volunteers also
make smaller angels. One with a
harp sells for $25, and another with
a lyre and a stand costs $30. They
even make $15 guardian angels that
can be used as Christmas ornaments, and angel pins that are $15.
"Cancer strikes people of all
socio-economic classes," says
Burnett. That's why the Caring
Collection sells a variety of angels at
different prices. "We can meet the
needs of people who don't have a
lot of money."
Besides selling to locals, the
Caring Collection has sold angels to
people in Europe, Russia, Australia,
Brazil, and South Africa, among
others. People buy them not only for
those with cancer, but also as birth-
day, anniversary, or wedding gifts.
"That's why the Caring Collection
is important - because it touches
people," says Burnett. "Each angel
may pass through the hands of 25 or
30 people from the beginning
through the completion. As it passes
through their hands, the volunteers
feel they are passing on their love,
hope, care, and comfort to all the
people who receive them."
For more information on the Caring
Collection, call 410-849-5333 or visit
www.caringcollection.org.
Back to the Caring Collection Home Page
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