The Brighter Story

Helen and her friend Jean were like family. During their time working together at the YMCA, the two became incredibly close. Even after their YMCA days, the women maintained their relationship; Jean even became “Aunt Jean” to Helen’s children.

Jean travelled often for work, and one thing she never traveled without was a lifestyle magazine. She loved the excitement of seeing trends for the upcoming season and the lifestyle tips within the pages. When Jean was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, however, that changed. The magazines’ content no longer applied to her, and she felt isolated, rather than excited. She confided in Helen that she wished there was a lifestyle magazine for women like her—women affected by cancer.

Jean sadly passed away at the beginning of 2020. When the pandemic hit, looking for ways to encourage others, Helen combined her surplus free time and background in graphic design and invested in making her friend’s dream a reality. Brighter was born.

Brighter

Brighter is a small Dallas-based nonprofit that serves women nationwide through our quarterly publication and programs. Our goal is to be a companion to women throughout treatment and survivorship. We provide insights on the changes that come with cancer, the ones that doctors don’t always have time to cover in limited appointments.

Brighter also distributes a quarterly 60-page lifestyle publication. Brighter magazine is provided to subscribers and over 50 medical/nonprofit facilities across the US. We work hard to make sure financial barriers don’t stop women from accessing our resources, so our magazines are provided at little to no cost to survivors. We just ask that women donate to cover the cost of their subscription if they can.

Each issue consists of articles written by experts in oncology-related fields, such as nutrition, cancer rehabilitation, mental health, physical fitness, adaptive fashion, post-treatment skincare and much, much more!

Social Survivors

Brighter also holds a monthly in-person and virtual support group called Social Survivors that gathers women at any stage from diagnosis throughout survivorship to learn about helpful topics and to build community together.

Ambassador Program

Brighter’s social media-based Ambassador Program encourages and helps survivors across the country to raise awareness for helpful resources, support and products that can help others who are new to the cancer journey. Our ambassadors share their experiences and stories to create a landscape in which cancer isn’t so isolating.

Summer Program

Every summer, Brighter invites several high-school teens to learn about journalism, nonprofit work, design, fundraising and more. They complete projects throughout the summer, raise cancer awareness in their peer group through social media, and learn from local professionals through weekly seminars. Brighter’s mission through the Summer Program is to equip young women with information about cancer awareness, prevention and early detection as they enter adulthood. This information encourages them to make healthier choices for themselves, emboldens them to encourage self-advocacy and healthy habits for their peers, and equips them with the understanding and compassion to navigate the diagnosis of a friend or loved one in the future.

Who We Are

Brighter is committed to credible, practical resources. We believe that women should not just survive cancer; they should thrive despite it. Through awareness, resources and increased access to the products and services that can ease daily burdens, we have seen that the cancer landscape can change. Together, we are making a difference in the lives of women affected by cancer.