Happy Genes Day everyone! Thanks to all of you who bought Genifique today or stopped by one of our counters for a sample. (Or maybe you plan to. It's still early on the West Coast!) I think we'll definitely be donating more than $100,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. (We pledged a minimum donation of $100,000.) We'll let you know the exact amount as soon as we find out.
The Genes Day video above features a few of our spokespeople and the lovely Tory Kirby from Makeup.com. We had fun making the video with Sandy, Daria, Arlenis and Tory. It's not so easy reading off a cue card or walking across Fifth Avenue while talking, smiling and dodging taxis! We could have had a very funny bloopers video. I'm glad I was on the other side, with the camera crew.
As promised, here is the post from my colleague Patricia Reynoso about her visit to St. Jude the other week. We spoke on the phone after she returned and she said, "The first thing I did when I got home was hug my children." So thank you again to everyone who buyed, tried or helped us spread the word. xoxo
PATRICIA'S VISIT
A few weeks ago, during one of the rainiest days of the year, my colleagues and I were bound for Memphis, Tennessee, the home of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. We had been discussing this legendary institution for weeks back at the Lancôme office, in preparation for our first-ever Genes Day, and I was excited to see it with my own eyes.
We landed safely in sunny Memphis and were greeted by our lovely host, Jeri Morrison of ALSAC, the fundraising arm for St. Jude. As we stood in the lobby of the main hospital building, I was awed by the sheer size of this sprawling, open space. Everywhere my eyes landed, I spotted child-centric touches. Colorful murals covered every wall and many of the desks were at child-level, so that kids don’t feel intimidated as they check in for the first time. Art, some created by the children and some donated by local artists, were displayed proudly. Even the cloud-shaped ceiling tiles offered a respite, allowing a child another moment of peace as they were wheeled on by.
My colleagues and I followed Jeri through the facility and each stop was more eye-opening than the last. I was expecting more of a hospital-like ambiance—even down to the smell—but instead it felt like an inviting community. The hallways were teeming with medical personnel and families. St. Jude believes that patients and their families should live as normally as possible while being treated, hence features like the school, chapel and the teen center. We were only allowed to peek into the patient areas but got the full tour of Target House, which certain families can call home for as long as four years. Jeri pointed out little, but important, details, such as the blue translator phones that ensure that every patient, of every nationality, can communicate with the medical staff in their language. That one detail made my heart skip. It made me think of my father, who passed from lung cancer years ago, and who would’ve loved the translator phone with a Spanish-speaking operator on the other end.
I had many other heart-skipping moments. With every child that I saw milling about, I thought of my twins, Brandon and Grace. Aside from a two-week stay in the intensive care unit when they were born, their father and I have been blessed with their perfect health. So far. And that’s what got me. That at any moment, life could take a twist and we could find ourselves at the receiving end of this amazing care.
