Today we’d like to introduce you to Cortney Cole-Hall.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cortney. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Creating a nonprofit is exciting, yet certainly full of challenges! After months of forms, follow-up, and persistence, Pink Door Nonprofit Organization (Pink Door) received it’s 501 c 3 in September 2007. It seems like it was only yesterday Pink Door introduced its mission in helping women begin a new life after cancer, and the impact has been tremendous!
Pink Door’s inception initially began Thursday, August 25, 2005. As I slowly opened a large door knowing what I was about to endure, my focus quickly glanced across the room. Sunlight poured through the window – shining upon my mother in her hospice bed. There she was – no longer in pain, no longer feeling the difficult emotional moments between this life and beyond. She was in God’s hands – peaceful and calm. It was at that moment, I recalled how hard my mother had struggled at trying to beat the indefinite outcome that was to be. I thought how unfair it was, how much pain she felt in trying to re-discover herself after a difficult divorce while “affording” cancer treatment.
A week later after her funeral, I made the attempt to begin organizing my mother’s items towards an estate sale. What was interesting about this day in particular: the imperative memory of opening my mother’s file cabinet and realizing I had found something special. One important piece of paper created an idea that would spark helping hundreds of women! Taking a slow deep breath, my eyes danced across each page. I saw first-hand the amount of income my mother had spent on all of the necessary items that can help a woman, a cancer patient, fund her life during and after cancer. The idea and concept of Pink Door was then born!
From the color “pink” to signify women to my mother’s wise words before she passed and I quote: “Cortney, it’s known that when you close the door to one chapter of your life, another door opens.” There it was – a new organization’s name had now began with a true life story, a full on vision, and the heart of so many survivors and supporters today.
Today, Pink Door has helped over 190 women (grantees), distributed over $320,000 in funds (towards women cancer patients and survivor’s life expenses), 5,000 newsletter subscribers, 8 Board of Directors, and countless on-going supporters. Through this program, Pink Door cancer survivor Corinne Carpenter states: “You have changed my life, and I’ll never forget.” We will never forget you Corinne, nor the women that Pink Door is proud to be a special part of their lives!!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In building a nonprofit from “scratch,” there were countless times I wanted to give up – many times were incredibly challenging – more so than most folks believe. It takes loads of strength and endurance to ensure the long-term success of meeting and exceeding nonprofit goals. I truly believe what has kept both myself and our team moving forward is also the most exciting aspect of what we do – the gift of gratitude we receive from the women we help. It’s literally one of the most impactful moments in our lives. Our team will never forget the women Pink Door has connected with – these women have motivated us to work diligently in making Pink Door one of the best nonprofits in our community!
Please tell us about Pink Door Nonprofit Organization. What sets you apart from other nonprofits?
To this day, I cannot name very many nonprofits who value themselves as a 100% all-volunteer nonprofit, and yet, still successful over 12 years! Furthermore, 100% of our proceeds/donations go towards the women we help and the small expenses in conjunction with helping these women. We do not have an administrative team nor do we have any full-time or part-time employment on Pink Door’s team. I love this aspect of Pink Door and wish other nonprofits would do the same.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
This is a tough question as there are way too many to name – it certainly takes a village, and I would be worried to leave an important person out! However, what I can say on this piece is how important our current board members are to the success of Pink Door as they tirelessly work on our upcoming 12th Annual Gala, Friday, November 8th – Please join us by purchasing tickets at www.pinkdoornonprofit.org:
Candace Stofer, Board Chairman
Marshall Sweed, Board Vice-Chairman
Jennifer Trenta, Secretary
Freddy Cruz
Julie Rowe, MD
Therese Flaherty
Aelicia Bayliss
Pricing:
- Donations accepted of any size!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pinkdoornonprofit.org
- Email: info@pinkdoornonprofit.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pinkdoornonprofitorganization/
Image Credit:
Heather Purvis (Cortney Cole-Hall with Dogs).
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